Sunday, November 22, 2015

Platform for strata woes

The Sunday Star 
With All Due Respect by Roger Tan

On board: Senior lawyer Teh Yoke Hooi, the only woman president, receiving her letter of appointment from Dahlan, flanked by the ministry’s secretary-general Datuk Mohammad Mentek and Norhayati.
With the Strata Management Tribunal, the myriad of related disputes should be effectively dealt with.  

ON July 9 this year, 20 lawyers received their letters of appointment as presidents of the Strata Management Tribunal from Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan. 

The much-awaited Strata Management Act, 2013 (Act 757), initiated by the previous minister, Tan Sri Chor Chee Heung, finally came into force on June 1, 2015, in the peninsula except for Penang which came into operation on June 12, 2015.

The Strata Management (Strata Management Tribunal) Regulations, 2015, came into effect on July 1, 2015. Act 757 also repealed the Building and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act, 2007 (Act 663).

In fact, the tribunal is the precursor of the Strata Titles Board set up under the repealed provisions of the Strata Titles Act, 1985 (Act 318) which really did not take off despite Act 318 being amended on Dec 1, 2000, and again on April 12, 2007.

The tribunal’s headquarters is based in Putrajaya whilst offices have also been set up in Penang, Johor Baru and Kuala Terengganu (See table). The chairman of the tribunal is Norhayati Ahmad.

With more than three million Malaysians living in various stratified buildings, it is hoped that this tribunal will be an effective forum for the various stakeholders to settle their disputes.