With the Court of Appeal’s landmark court decision on flat rate maintenance fees in mixed developments causing confusion, the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) is set to have a focus group meeting with industry stakeholders including the National House Buyers Association (HBA), the Malaysian Institute of Property & Facility Managers (MIPFM) and representatives from management bodies of strata properties on Monday (25 November) to discuss the issue.
“There are already a few proposals being put forward and all these are towards having an equitable solution. There may be a few rounds of meetings but we hope that the solution will come very fast, because it actually concerns a lot of people,” said MIPFM president Adzman Shah Mohd Ariffin following the launch of the MIPFM Conference 2019.
“Perhaps in a week’s time (from the focus group meeting to be held on Monday), there could be a press conference by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government and hopefully, we will have some good news by then.”
Read now: What are my rights as a strata owner?
He revealed that some owners had chosen to delay their payments, pending the resolution of the issue, reported EdgeProp.my.
“As you know, the uniform rate is supposed to apply to everybody. But different components will have their own concerns. So basically, we have the issue whereby those who are paying more than the uniform rate are asking if they can wait until the uniform rate is fixed. If they do that, we will run short of funds to manage the building and it will be of detriment to everyone in the building,” said Adzman.
Moreover, many are also confused on whether the court decision will be applied in a retrospective or prospective manner.
“We are not sure if it is retrospective or prospective — meaning does it start on the date of the judgement? Or do we have to go back and recalculate everything and refund? These are the issues now,” he added.
In discussing the topic “The Reality of Strata Property Management Business: Challenges and Opportunities” at the conference, Adzman said the industry landscape has become more challenging considering the increasing number of registered property managers, complexity of today’s buildings, lack of competent and skilled staff, property manager’s integrity and transparency, high cost of doing business and ever-growing client expectations.
“So instead of competing with each other, we should think of how we can make it a more sustainable business,” he urged.
Check out these latest project reviews today! or read our Guides to learn all about the property buying, selling and renting tips. We also have some helpful tips for you!
