By Jenny Chia

In Sarawak, ownership in multi-level or multi-storey buildings such as condominium or apartment is governed by Strata Title Ordinance 1995, the main piece of legislation which directly affects application and issuance of strata titles.

Most people are familiar with subdivision of land and understand that, when a parcel of land is subdivided, it will result in the creation of a number of lots with separate land titles. Ownership of common areas such as parks, drains, roads will be vested in the local council. This is often the case for housing development projects, for example, where the owner of the subdivided lot will be issued with individual land title.

Similarly, when a building is approved for subdivision, this will result in the creation of a number of parcels with separate subsidiary title or strata title. Ownership of common property such as car parks, lifts, corridors or stairways will be vested in the Management Corporation, which acts as agent for the parcel owners within the building.

Strata scheme is a legally recognised arrangement whereby a building is subdivided into individually owned parcels and each individual owner has coownership of common property. It is a system introduced for legal ownership of a “portion” of a building, otherwise known as strata parcel.

Boundaries of a strata parcel are identified by the permanent walls of the building separating the various parcels on each storey. Strata scheme guarantees rights over parts of building and allows for transfer, charge or sublease to be carried out. A person possessing a strata title effectively has an undivided share not only on the land upon which the building stands but also all the common property in the building.

Strata title can only be issued upon approval of application for subdivision of building, approval of strata title survey, payment of necessary fees, and formation of a Management Corporation. Failure to fulfill any of the conditions will result in delay in the issuance of strata title or even rejection of application.

A strata scheme comes into existence only when a book of Register is opened with subsidiary titles registered at the Land and Survey Department.

Compulsory application for strata title applies to buildings with five-storey and above and when developer or owner of building has sold or agreed to sell any parcel in the subdivided building.

The time frame given for compulsory application is upon expiry of six months after the sale of first parcel in the building took place or six months from the date of completion of the building approved for subdivision.

Those who failed to comply with the stipulated requirement is guilty of an offence and on conviction can be fined RM5,000 and an additional amount of RM1,500 per day.

The Strata Title Ordinance 1995 also makes provision for the formation of a Management Corporation to manage the building. Once the strata title plan is registered, the Management Corporation for building comes into existence and upon issues of a Certificate of Incorporation by Registrar under Section 23(2) of the Strata Title Ordinance 1995, the Management Corporation is constituted.

All the unit owners within the Strata Titled Building will become members of the Management Corporation and shall be responsible for the management of their building. The Management Corporation shall elect a Council to run the affairs and conduct business of the Management Corporation.

The principal role of the Management Corporation is to control, manage and administer common property and maintain the common property in good condition, pay quit rent for the land, insure building to its replacement value including paying the premium for insurance, comply with orders of local councils to abate public nuisance coming from building and carry out repairs on common property.

The Management Corporation is also the custodian of the issuance of document of title for the land in which the building stands. The Corporation, however, has no power to transfer any portion of the common property which forms part of the building or of the land.

Strata titled buildings such as apartments and condominiums are likely to become a hit among city dwellers, evidenced in the growing number of such property in the cities. Therefore, it is crucial for those who own a unit or intend to purchase a unit in strata scheme to understand the basics of the legislations governing such building, their role and responsibility as unit owners and the important role of the Management Corporation in managing the building.

The writer is the Assistant Director of Survey at  Land and Survey Headquarters and can be contacted at chiast@sarawak.gov.my