Selangor’s Pre-MCs the way to go
NST 10/6/2006 By G. Umakanthan

Pre-MCs are crucial to the maintenance and management of a stratified residential project for the period between the issuance of Certificates of Fitness for Occupation and the issuance of strata titles, said HBA secretary-general Chang Kim Loong.

“This interim period is one of ambiguity, resulting in frequent feuding between developers, their appointed property-managing agents and the owners or occupants, all due to the management of the property and its facilities,” he said.

Selangor’s move is a “positive transitional solution”, he added, especially since the Ministry of Housing and Local Government has not moved on addressing the issue since it met with market players and the HBA some four years ago to discuss the proposed Building and Common Property (Maintenance & Management) Act.

Introduced in March last year for all multi-storey housing units in Selangor, Pre-MCs are management corporations formed by residents and the developer to manage the stratified residential units and common areas until strata titles are issued.

Once these titles have been received, residents can turn the Pre-MC into a full-fledged Management Corporation, or even hire a company to look after the maintenance of the building, the common areas and other needs of residents, such as security.

In the case of squatters moving into a low-cost apartment, the Selangor Government recently issued a directive that they must form a Pre-MC from the onset, to ensure that the overall maintenance of the units is taken care of until strata titles are received.

Besides just solving maintenance issues, Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo also wants Pre-MCs to tackle social problems as well.

According to him, improvements in a building’s maintenance system “should be in line with the needs of the community, so that the young generation are not left aside to grow in an imperfect environment”, as this would lead to their involvement in social ills.

HBA’s Chang called on the Housing Ministry to give the Building and Common Property Act some urgency as it can further alleviate the maintenance and management problems “that have become a way of life in stratified properties” by providing the regulatory framework on building management. However, since the law has yet to take off, he said Selangor’s proactive move should be lauded and emulated.

“The management and maintenance of a sub-divided property is important to ensure the continued value and enjoyment of the property and its common areas by all residents,” Chang said.

“Selangor is the only State that has promoted a vehicle (the Pre- MCs) that can provide for transparency and accountability between owners and developers or their managing agents,” he said.

The spirit of the Pre-MC, he added, is to let owners or residents participate in the effective running of the building and common property and to act as the “check-and-balance” in the maintenance and management of the building.

This model would also eradicate the frequent feuding and mistrust between developers and buyers.