The Strata Management Tribunal is an important part of Malaysia’s regulatory system for strata buildings.
Think of it as a unique justice system that was formed to bring truth and fairness to the strata management system.
Keep on reading to find out what exactly it is, what they do, and what do you need to know!
What is the Strata Management Tribunal?
The Strata Management Tribunal (SMT) is a legally recognised body that was formed to moderate any disputes that are related to buildings with a strata title.
A Tribunal will be led by a Chairman and Deputy Chairman, and comprised of no less than 20 members of the legal profession, each with more than 7 years’ experience.
The SMT system was established primarily to resolve disputes, many of which are often down to differences of opinions about finances.
Their aim is to deliver workable and accessible solutions for parties in conflict.
A common example would be: a case where the owner of an apartment unit disagrees on maintenance fees with the Joint Management Body (JMB).
The SMT is designed to resolve disagreements at minimal cost for the parties involved. Because of that, no professional legal representation is allowed.
However, certain circumstances may be permitted, usually involving complex cases where one party may be significantly disadvantaged by lack of representation.
So if it gets really complicated, you can get someone to deal with the complicated for you!
Who can make a claim before the Strata Management Tribunal?
There are a lot of people involved in strata buildings and strata management. So, as you might have guessed, a large number of people can lay claim to the important work of the Strata Management Tribunal:
- Developer
- Purchaser
- Proprietor
- Joint Management Body (JMB)
- Management Corporation (MC)
- Subsidiary Management Company (SMC)
- Managing agent
- Relevant parties (Special permission granted by Tribunal)
Hold up! It’s good to point out the difference between a purchaser and proprietor when looking at the list above:
- Proprietor: A property owner in situations where an official Strata Title for the property has already been issued.
- Purchaser: An owner who has an interest in a particular unit, as part of a wider Master Title. Under this circumstance, the Proprietor is a landowner or developer, until such time when the Strata Title is issued.
What cases can be brought before the SMT?
With the commitment to affordable and accessible representation under the SMT, and a structure designed to avoid professional legal representation, cases can be presented if they’re at the relatively low-cost range.
The SMT will hear claims covering financial costs up to RM250,000, following cases as defined in the Strata Management Act 2013:
- A dispute or complaint concerning performance of duties under the Strata Management Act
- A dispute on cost of repairs in respect of defects in a parcel of land or common area
- A claim for recovery of charges, maintenance fees, or sinking fund
- A claim for convening a general meeting
- A claim to invalidate proceedings of a meeting which contravene the SMA
- A claim to nullify resolutions where voting rights have not been followed
- A claim to nullify resolutions passed at a general meeting
- A claim to revoke amendment of by-laws
- A claim to vary the rate of interest fixed by a JMB, MC, or SMC for late payment of charges
- A claim to vary insurance provided
- A claim to pursue an insurance claim
- A claim for release of information from a JMB, MC, or SMC
- A claim to request consent for alterations to common property areas
- A claim to affirm, vary, or revoke decisions by the Housing Commissioner
That’s a lot of stuff to cover! One thing that the SMT does NOT cover is issues relating to disputes of ownership.
But if it’s down to maintenance, costs, or common upkeep, the SMT is almost certainly the place to turn to.
What awards and penalties can the SMT impose?
The SMT is obliged to make its award within 150 days of the first day of the hearing.
Each award must be accompanied by the relevant grounds for the decision made by the Tribunal. So what awards can they hand out?
- Order a party to pay or refund sums of money, damage, or compensation
- Order a party to pay interest of no more than 8% per annum on a monetary award
- Dismiss a frivolous or vexatious claim
- Make any further order it considers just and expedient
- Impose additional ancillary orders or relief as is necessary to effect any other order made by the SMT
- Vary or set aside a contract or additional by-laws, excepting those set down as of June 1 2015 which prevail over any additional and inconsistent by-laws or in-house rules
Of course it wouldn’t be much of a dispute body if the SMT couldn’t impose penalties too!
While their primary job is to mediate disputes and come to a satisfactory conclusion for both parties, not everyone likes to do as they’re told.
Now, in those circumstances, the SMT can step in and impose some substantial penalties:
- RM250,000 fine
- Up to 3 years in prison
- Both the fine and the jail time!
And if that doesn’t get you to do what you’re told, the SMT can impose an additional fine of up to RM5,000 each day that an offence continues after the original conviction. That could get very expensive, fast!
What’s the recent trend with the Tribunal?
Strata Management Tribunal cases seem to be getting rather trendy in recent years!
According to data from the Housing and Strata Management Tribunal (TPPS), the number of complaints forwarded to the Strata Management Tribunal almost doubled from 2,642 in 2016 to 4,964 in 2018. That’s quite the rise in unhappy people living in strata properties.
The data shows that (unsurprisingly!) most cases brought to the hearings were related to the collection of maintenance fees.
It seems that JMBs and MCs get a little annoyed when it comes to people not paying their common charges. Equally, people get annoyed when they feel those common charges are unfair.

As you might have guessed, all this popularity of the SMT means that the system is struggling to deliver speedy resolutions in some cases.
The average rate of resolutions dropped from 96.7% in 2017 to 92.35% in 2018. But don’t worry, they’ll get there in the end!
The Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT) is working to tackle this challenge by appointing more Presidents to head tribunals.
Hopefully you won’t ever need to use it, but if you do, you should feel safer knowing that the Strata Management Tribunal is there to provide fair oversight of your strata property disputes
Looking to understand a bit more about the foundations of a good strata management system? Let’s talk about maintenance fees. Here’s our Simple Guide To Sinking Fund And Maintenance Fees In Property.
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