(From left) John Chan, Denise Phang and Raymond Mah with Christopher Chan (Associate Director of Hartamas Real Estate Sdn Bhd)
On 3 March 2020, MWKA’s Managing Partner, Raymond Mah, and Senior Associates, John Chan and Denise Phang, spoke at Hartamas Academy’s CPD Talk. Among the attendees were property managers and real estate agents.
John started the day with a presentation entitled “An Overview of Management and Maintenance of Strata Developments” in which he explained the maintenance and management duties and powers of the developer, joint management body (“JMB”) and management corporation (“MC”) as provided under the Strata Management Act 2013, Strata Management (Maintenance & Management) Regulations 2015 and Strata Titles Act 1985. This was followed by Raymond illustrating the various methods for developers, JMBs and MCs to recover outstanding maintenance charges and sinking fund contributions from defaulting parcel owners. Raymond also explained the setting, procedures and jurisdiction of the Strata Management Tribunal.
Next, Raymond presented on the recent landmark Court of Appeal decision of Muhamad Nazri Bin Muhamad v JMB Menara Rajawali & Anor which held, amongst others, that a JMB is required to determine and fix only a single rate of maintenance charges for all types of parcels in a strata scheme. Raymond explained in detail the technical reasoning behind the Court of Appeal’s decision which can be summarized as follows:
(i) Sections 21(1)(b), 21(2)(a) and 25 of the Strata Management Act 2013 requires a JMB to determine maintenance charges in proportion to the share units of each parcel;
(ii) The provisions of the Strata Management Act 2013 does not expressly allow a JMB to determine different rates of maintenance charges for different types of parcels;
(iii) The provisions of the Strata Management Act 2013 only expressly allows an MC to determine different rates of maintenance charges, and even then, in two specific circumstances only (Section 60(3)(b));
(iv) Paragraphs (i) to (iii) above is consistent with the legislative framework on the calculation and allocation of equitable share units.
[Read more about the Menara Rajawali case in MWKA’s Article on the Court of Appeal decision and Responses to Criticisms against the Court of Appeal decision]
After lunch, Raymond and Denise gave a presentation entitled “An Overview of Land Acquisition in Malaysia” where they addressed the right to property under the Federal Constitution, land acquisition process under the Land Acquisition Act 1960, land reference proceedings and judicial review proceedings.
Finally, Denise presented on the topic of “Acquisition of Common Property” in relation to strata schemes. She informed of the 1 December 2017 amendments to the Land Acquisition Act 1960 to include express provisions pertaining to the compulsory acquisition of common property in strata schemes. As the acquisition of common property is something new, Denise shared her experience on the issues that will arise in common property acquisition, including:
(i) Whether to pursue legal action?
(ii) What if strata titles have not been issued yet?
(iii) What if the ownership of common property is in dispute?
(iv) Who will be entitled to the compensation?
(v) How to distribute the compensation received?
MWKA would like to express its appreciation and gratitude to Hartamas Real Estate Group for inviting Raymond, John and Denise to speak and share their knowledge and experience at the CPD Talk.
