KUCHING: It is the parcel or unit owners’ responsibilities to pay the maintenance fee and sinking fund on time, for the upkeep and maintenance of their strata property, such as a flat, apartment or condominium.
Abu Bakar Sepawi, the former Head of Planning and Housing Policy Section of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government said they will lose their rights if they failed to pay the amount on time or refused to contribute.
He said the owners will have no voting rights; if all or any part of maintenance charge is unpaid no later than seven days of a general annual meeting of the management committee, a proprietor loses their entitlement to vote.
He also warned that under Strata Management Ordinance, 2019 (SMO), failure to pay maintenance charges can ultimately be judged a criminal act.
Apart from that, the management bodies are legally allowed to charge interest at a rate of no more than 10 per cent per annum on a daily basis for any sum remaining unpaid after the expiry period of 14 days of request for payment.
“The owners will also have limited access to public areas, common property or facilities: access to public areas may be limited if they fail to pay maintenance charge and contribution to sinking funds,” he said.
Abu Bakar was speaking at the “A Homeowner’s Webinar 2023; Implementing Best Practices for Strata Living in Sarawak” webinar organised by the Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developers’ Association (SHEDA) yesterday (Feb 11).
He said paying maintenance fee and contribution to a sinking fund helps to provide for the services that maintain a positive place with a favourable environment to live in
Meanwhile, any subsidiary proprietor who is not satisfied with the sums determined by the developer may apply to the Commissioner of Buildings (COB) for the review.
The Commissioner, he said, could determine the sum to be paid as the maintenance charge, or contribution to the sinking fund; or instruct the developer to appoint, at the developer’s own cost and expense.
“A property manager needs to recommend the sum payable as maintenance charge, or contribution to the sinking fund, and submit a copy of the property manager’s report to the Commissioner,” he said.
A maintenance fee is a monthly payment for maintaining common facilities and common property in the development such as swimming pools, elevators, and security services while sinking fund is a reserve fund collected from the strata owner for future expenditure. Examples include the painting of the facade, refurbishment works, or replacement of fixtures.
To derive the share units in a strata scheme, there is a standard formula to calculate the maintenance fee; which is “operating expenditure / (divided with) the total share units in condo development”.
