Board to help ease woes of condo owners

The Star 15/6/2004  By Dharmender Singh

THE Selangor Government has set up a state-level Housing and Real Property Board to help condominium owners receive their strata titles and take over the management of the blocks.

Seri Kembangan assemblyman Datuk Liew Yuen Keong said the setting up of the board was crucial in Selangor where more developers were building high-density flats, apartments and condominiums. A reason for this, he said, was the scarcity of land especially in Petaling Jaya and Subang Jaya.

Liew said in Seri Kembangan alone there were 20 high-rise projects in the works. “The board is able to give advice and lend its expertise on the management of the buildings, something most apartment owners are burdened with,’’ he said, adding that it could also help to resolve problems that might arise between residents and management companies that were hired by developers.

“When such problems arise, residents usually refuse to pay maintenance fees and this triggers off other problems, too,’’ said Liew.

Liew, who met the board’s officials recently, said its first task was to help occupants of low-cost flats in Taman Universiti Indah, Taman Muhibbah and Taman Sungai Besi Indah.