The HBA argues that regulations under Act 663 are urgently needed to address the chaos at Joint Management Body (JMB) meetings
Posted Date: Nov 10, 2010
By: HBA
“Boss” of Building
On 12 April 2007, the Building and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) (“Act 663”) came into force. The Act is meant to assist homebuyers in the management and maintenance of a stratified building during the interim period before the 1st AGM of the management corporation (MC) is convened by the developer.
In doing so, the Act took away from the developer the powers of managing and maintaining and the abuses of power by unscrupulous and greedy developers and placed it into the hands of the owners/ homebuyers.
During the interim period, the developer is required to form a Joint Management Body (JMB) comprising the homebuyers and the developer.
In the JMB, homebuyers would be the “boss” of the building. The developer would hang around to assist homebuyers to manage and maintain the building until the strata titles for the building have been issued. Thus, homebuyers manage the building jointly with the developer.
Being the “boss” of the building, homebuyers will decide, among others, how best to run and maintain the building, how the building funds are to be used and what service contracts to enter into.
“Curbing Mischief”
Needless to say, many errant developers resisted the Act. Even today, there are some developers that wantonly delay the handover of the management and maintenance of the building to the homebuyers. Some developers even resort to “gangster-like” ways of communication to intimidate and silence homebuyers from taking initiative action.
Despite the teething problems, Act 663 has managed to substantially curb the mischief of errant developers unscrupulously managing the building or greedily using the building funds.
“Half-baked Act”
While Act 663 has brought much relief to homebuyers who were previously under the control of many unscrupulous and greedy developers, the Act itself is rather half-baked in that it lacks a set of regulations that are essential to assist homebuyers in managing and maintaining the building.
In this sense, the Act without the regulations is a mismatch.
Why are the regulations necessary?
The regulations will provide the mechanism to carry out the purpose of the Act. Simply, it will tell homebuyers what to do. It will have rules on how homebuyers can manage the building effectively.
More specifically, the regulations will need to address the following areas:
- Voting. Is voting to be by show of hands only? Are proxies allowed?
- Single owners. Are single owners who live away from the building allowed to appoint proxies at a general meeting?
- Co-owners. Can co-owners appoint a 3rd party to be their proxy?
- Committee. Who votes for the chairman, secretary and treasurer?
- Meetings. How are committee meetings run when the Chairman resigns? What is the procedure for calling and running a general meeting?
- Transparency. How can the JMC work transparently?
- Hard-core owners. How to persuade stubborn owners to quickly pay the service charges?
- Property managers. Must property managers be registered with the Board of Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Malaysia?
Currently, the Act is silent on these areas. The Act’s void, i.e. the absence of the regulations, has caused many problems to occur.
Pockets of power struggles happen within some JMBs. The tension increases and bursts out at general meetings. For their safety, COBs need to be accompanied by enforcement officers in uniform when they attend these meetings.
Many Commissioners of Building (COBs) voluntarily attend the JMB meetings on weekends. They get the flak for the Act’s void.
Opportunists go around proclaiming to JMBs that they are “experts” on the Act and, intentionally or otherwise, belittling the COBs and instigating chaos and verbal attacks from the JMBs to the COBs. Doing so, these so-called “experts” impress their importance to the JMBs to engage them as consultants.
JMBs are in the dark on what to do when their JMCs selfishly manage the building for their own self-serving interests instead of the overall good of residents in the building.
The above are but a few of the real problems happening in JMBs. The regulations may resolve these problems. The Act’s void ought to be filled immediately.
Void in Act
We, the National House Buyers Association, had paid a courtesy visit (“lawatan kunjung hormat”) to the present Minister of Housing and Local Government to welcome him into his important office.
We also respectfully enlightened him of the void in the Act, i.e. the Act is without the regulations, and that he has the power under the Act to pass the regulations to fill the void. In short, the regulations can be put into force fairly quickly minus the lengthy time-consuming formalities of tabling them and getting them approved in Parliament. He assured HBA that the regulations would be in place soon.
Respectfully to-date, the regulations have not been forthcoming.
We hope that this article would urge the honourable Minister to see again the dire need for the regulations. An Act without its regulations is a mismatch, like a headless chicken running about everywhere.
We also respectfully urge the Minister to hear the cries of the rakyat. “Stop the power struggles! Stop the trouble-making and self-proclaimed experts! Stop the groping in the dark! Have the regulations!
And, do it now, please… Minister”
The National House Buyers Association (HBA) is a voluntary, non-governmental organization manned by unpaid volunteers. For more information, check out their website at http://www.hba.org.my E-Mail: info@hba.org.my
NATIONAL HOUSE BUYERS ASSOCIATION [HBA]
No. 31, Level 3, Jalan Barat, Off Jalan Imbi, 55100, Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2142 2225 | 012- 334 5676 | Fax: 03-22601803
Email: info@hba.org.my | Web Site: www.hba.org.my