Archive for the 'YBR' Category

PreMC managed to collect an overwhelming numbers of signatures… TWO. He he he… Desaminians dont want covered parking for their motorbikes? Or the time is not right? But there are a lot of motorcycles and cars in the parking lots, meaning there are a lot of residents at home… but the turn out was sad indeed.

OK moving on…. this is where residents park their motorbikes… and this morning there was heavy rain.

Over at YBR office, the staff gave themselves special treatment with covered parking.

And they get away with it without any warning from security….. Why???
The residents who own the units are told they can’t park their motorbikes at non-designated parking lots and yet the non-residents of YBR staff can just park anywhere they wish?

Hari ini kita telah mendapat seorang lagi Building Manager di Desaminium Rimba yang akan menjalankan tugasnya. Nama beliau En Mustafa. Sebarang masalah boleh berhubung dengan beliau di talian 012-9707659

Condominiums are a statement of luxury, but behind the facade, residents complain of the lack of services from their management companies (MCs) while MCs complain that the residents who refuse to pay management fees are the ones preventing such services from being provided.

This “chicken and egg” scenario is causing a lot of dissent among condominium property owners, so much so that a group of such affected owners decided to form the Condominium, Apartment and High-rise Committee (CAHC) to champion the rights of condominium owners.

There are no quick fixes to the problems, however, as residents who got together to fight their issues discover numerous hurdles and obstacles before them.

“There is a lack of transparency in the way things are done presently and residents are tired of being taken for a ride,” said CAHC pro tem chairman Tengku Nazaruddin Zainuddin.

Arguments between residents and MCs are often the result of money matters. Residents are already paying a premium on their service charges and when such services are not up to expectations, complaints would ensue.

Most MCs do not make the matter any easier to resolve because they do not allow the management accounts and the sinking fund accounts to be viewed, citing excuses that the accounts could not be shown.

“Don’t let them cheat you. Withholding such accounts from residents is a violation of the Housing and Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966 that many MCs and condominium owners themselves are not aware of,” said CAHC pro tem assistant chairman Khong Chee Seng.

Section 19 of the Act states that the developer shall provide the purchaser with a copy of the Annual Audited Accounts for the expenses incurred for the provision of the said services.

Section 20 (sub-clauses 3 and 4) meanwhile provides for the Sinking Fund accounts to be made available to the purchaser.

CAHC through the residents associations has used this Act to apply for the accounts from two MCs of condominiums located in Petaling Jaya and Klang. However, they have yet to provide a copy to owners.

Part of the reason MCs do not want to disclose their accounts is the fact that some of them charge management fees illegally.

Prior to the acquisition of the strata title, the developer is either supposed to manage the condominium or outsource the management to another person or corporation.

“Any person who undertakes property management practice is required by law to register with the Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents,” said Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents registrar R. Mahaletchumi in reply to a query on management fee charges.

“Nevertheless, if the condominium concerned has not been issued with strata titles, then the developer may manage the condo himself, provided he does not charge property management fees.”

The right to charge such fees lies with those registered with the Board, as stated in Section 21 of the Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Act 1981.

Developers who outsource the management to a third party must ensure that the person or company is registered with the Board.

Tomorrow: Read the second part on the problem faced by condominium and apartment owners in obtaining strata titles.

Source [The Star]

Condominium, Apartment and High-rise Committee (CAHC) pro tem assistant chairman Khong Chee Seng said there are many stories of management committees (MCs) using strong-armed tactics to bully residents into paying up the management fees.

One of the tactics employed is the clamping of water meters – a penalty which some MCs have included in the in-house rules and regulations for not paying management fees.

What many MCs do not take into account, however, is that Section 35 of the Strata Title Act 1985 specifically states that condo residents have the right to support, service and shelter, which includes access to water, and that any attempt to clamp water meters is in violation of the Act.

CAHC is trying to get around this deadlock by getting the Selangor state government to legislate a law forcing MCs to hand over the water meters to Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas).

Syabas is willing to let condominium dwellers pay domestic rates, but they must first control the meters, and they cannot take control of it presently due to the ambiguity in the law on water meters governing joint-ownership properties like condominiums.

Syabas has already submitted the proposal to the state government and it would take some three months for the state government to implement, if it agrees to such a suggestion.

Other tactics include lawyers’ letters with threats of lawsuits.

Khong himself has been slapped with several lawsuits amounting to RM5mil for fighting on behalf of condominium residents.

But residents are not the only victims here. Bungah Raya Management Corporation secretary Somasundaram Venkates-waran said from his experience, MCs use water clamping to enforce payment of arrears by defaulters.

“Though this is certainly not a fair thing to do (access to drinking water is a basic human right), it has been found to be a practical, cost-effective and quick recovery method,” said Venkateswaran.

“Legal recovery procedures are expensive and time-consuming. MCs may have to wait a long time to obtain judgment from our courts, all the more so with our appellate courts system.

“In the meantime, core services including corridor and car park lighting and lift operations have to be disrupted or even stopped altogether due to the lack of collections from owners. This will obviously anger owners who are good paymasters who may also stop payment until services are restored. It is a ‘chicken and egg’ situation.”

Source [The Star]