KPKT: More time, more study needed before SMA amendment

 
 
PETALING JAYA (Nov 14): There are a number of proposed amendments to the Strata Management Act 2013 (SMA) but “each proposed amendment needs more clarification and detailed study before they can be considered by the government”, said the Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT).

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In an email reply to EdgeProp.my, the ministry’s Urban Service Division said some of the proposed amendments involve other Acts such as the Strata Title Act 1985 (Act 318).

“Thus, proper consideration and agreement are needed between ministries before any amendment can take place,” said the ministry.

It added that the process to amend an act is time consuming as the authorities are required to conduct public engagements to gather supporting data and evidence before getting approval from the Attorney General to table the amendment in Parliament. 

Hence, the ministry expects the process to be completed in the year 2021.

Since April 2019, the Urban Service Division has conducted four workshops which involved stakeholders and industry players of strata development and management in Malaysia.

The stakeholders and industry players are the House Buyers Association (HBA), the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (Rehda), the Bar Council of Malaysia, the Strata Management Tribunal, the Malaysian Institute of Property & Facility Managers (MIPFM), the Association of Valuers, Property Managers, Estate Agents and Property Consultants (PEPS), the Royal Institution of Surveyors Malaysia (RISM), the Malaysian Institute of Professional Estate Agents and Consultants (MIEA), the Malaysia Shopping Malls Association (PPKM), the Commissioner of Buildings (COB), Joint Management Bodies (JMBs) and others.

The aim of the workshops was to gather ideas, proposals and issues related to the SMA. These will be the basis for the government to develop policy direction and consequently, amendments to the SMA, KPKT said.

It added that the topics and issues raised and discussed at these workshops, that involve amending the SMA, are numerous and varied. They include topics such as annual general meetings, the appointment of a managing agent, different maintenance rates, factors of Schedule One, responsibility of the COB, developers paying a deposit for defects of common property, voting rights, the quorum to form JMBs or Management Corporations (MCs), sub-MCs and others.