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"If I complain, I'll have to pay more"
11/08/2002 By Tay It Tuan, Director Asset Services, CB Richard Ellis
Source: http://www.cbre.com.sg/marketwatch/features_110800.html

Where to go and why…

Many years ago, while visiting a friend living in a private apartment, I noticed water dripping from the ceiling of the lift lobby. To prevent water puddles from forming, someone had placed a small tin to catch the drippings. Two weeks later, when I visited my friend again, the water seepage was even more serious. Now, instead of placing a tin to catch the water droplets, a pail was placed below the wet spots on the ceiling.

Being in the property management profession, I could not resist asking my friend why he had not asked the management to resolve the water seepage problem. His answer: "What for? If I complain more, I'll have to pay more".

A logical answer! But in today's context, this is not how some of us will react when put in a similar situation. As condominium living gains popularity in Singapore, more people are now increasingly aware of the Land Titles (Strata) Act governing management corporations. Unlike in the past, joint-owners (subsidiary proprietors) of condominiums today know more of their rights and the application of the Act.

The concept of condominium management is not entirely new. It was first introduced in Singapore through the passing of the Land Titles (Strata) Act (the Act) in 1967 after it was successfully practised in New South Wales, Australia. With a condominium concept, a residential building can be subdivided into many units or lots. Each of the lots will have a separate legal title, which will enable the lots to be disposed off more easily.

The Act also provides that all the subsidiary proprietors in the condominium form a corporate body known as the Management Corporation (MC). The MC has a legal identity and can therefore sue and be sued in its own name. It is responsible for the control, management, and administration of the shared facilities and the common property of the condominium.

Within the MC there is a management council consisting of elected subsidiary proprietors. The council is responsible for the actual running of the condominium. The MC at its Annual General Meeting may appoint a managing agent to assist the council to administer the day -to -day activities of the estate.

The source of power for regulating the control, management, use and enjoyment of the lot, and common property is in the by-laws. By-laws are derived from two sources: those that are contained in the First Schedule of the Act and those made by the MC.

In the First Schedule some of the by-laws concern noise interference, obstruction of lawful use of property, and behaviour of subsidiary proprietors and occupiers. To supplement the by-laws in the First Schedule, the MC is empowered to make its own by-laws. However the by-laws made by the MC must not be inconsistent with those in the First Schedule and must fall within the Act; otherwise the by-laws will not be valid.

Hence whenever some subsidiary proprietors, who are conversant with the Act, notice a fault or a misconduct of their condominium's affairs, they may not hesitate to complain. In some cases they may expect an instant answer and a quick solution to the issues they raise. This results in the role of managing a condominium being one that is an endless task of handling various complaints, including those that are unreasonable or trivial.

For this reason not many subsidiary proprietors are willing to volunteer themselves as council members to administer the affairs of the management corporation. Like a company that is managed by its board of directors, a management corporation needs a council to administer the estate on a day-to-day basis for the benefit of all the subsidiary proprietors.

An efficient management corporation will depend to some extent on the personality, and business acumen of the chairman, its office bearers and members. Self-confidence, fair-mindedness and the ability to arrive at the correct decision at the spur of the moment are some of the necessary qualities required of council members to handle conflicts.

It is important for us to realise that in a condominium, with many people living and sharing the resort-like facilities, a host of problems may arise when the people bring along with them their own standards, cultural experience, expectations and their own definition of " fair play". Thus its only natural that communal living inevitably gives rise to complaints and disputes.

Although there is no duty on the part of council members to intervene, it is quite common for council members to try to resolve the differences between the parties. In many cases the task of resolving the conflicts is time consuming and difficult. And in extreme instances, the aggrieved parties may wish to take their case to the Strata Titles Board.

The Strata Title Board was established in 1988 to ensure that the subsidiary proprietors are protected fairly in disputes arising from the use and occupation of lots in subdivided buildings such as the condominium. The Board acts in a quasi-judicial capacity to resolve these disputes. The establishment of the Board has also enabled cases to be resolved more expeditiously.

From the records of the applications to the Strata Titles Board, most of the disputes were found to be mainly in respect of defects in individual units, which resulted from water leakage or dampness from an upper unit penetrating to a lower unit. In some of these cases the Board required that the owners of the upper units remedy the defects. In other cases the responsibility to remedy the defects were shared in some manner.

While complaints and disputes usually stem from defects, there are also other reasons that may give rise to conflicts. For example, a complaint may arise when a council member who does not perform his fiduciary duties and his personal interests are subservient to those of the council and the management corporation.

Lately there is also a concern that the present Act needs to be revised to make it relevant to our present day conditions. For example the Act does not have a provision for a council member to declare that he is an undischarged bankrupt. Today an undischarged bankrupt can hold office, manage funds and perform fiduciary duties. It has been suggested that the Act be amended to prevent him from holding office.

With rapid changes in our economy and in technology, our life lifestyles have been inevitably affected. We have come to expect a higher standard when living in a condominium. But the success of managing the MC depends very much on the involvement and the participation of the subsidiary proprietors. It also requires a certain amount of "give and take" attitude to help smoothen any frictions between them.

However, the attitude of a few subsidiary proprietors today is different. Unlike the past, if the present subsidiary proprietors were put in the same situation of water leakage, they might stand up for their rights and complain. And if we were to ask them for their reason, they would probably reply, "If we complain more, we'll get more - better services."

So the question now is, "Will this be our attitude axiom for better services?"
 

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