The Strata Management Act 2015 (Act 757) and the (ii) Strata Management (Strata Management Tribunal) Regulations 2015, both of which went into effect on June 1, 2015, sets up and control the Strata Management Tribunal.
Here are 10 important things to know about the Strata Management Tribunal:
1. Resolving disputes efficiently
The Strata Management Tribunal was made so that disputes about strata management could be solved quickly, cheaply, and efficiently.
The Strata Management Act of 2015 says that the Tribunal must make its Award as soon as possible and, if possible, within 60 days of the first day of the hearing. It says in its Client Charter that it wants to settle a claim within 150 business days.
2. Jurisdiction
The Strata Management Tribunal has the power to do the following:
Claims for money that don't go over RM250,000;
Strata Management Act 2015 and subsidiary legislation made under the Strata Management Act 2015;
Disputes about how much it will cost to fix a problem with a strata parcel, building, or land meant for subdivision and its common property (subject to subsection 16n(2) of the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966);
Claims to get back maintenance fees and sinking fund payments that haven't been paid;
Claims for an order to call a general meeting; Claims for an order to invalidate meeting proceedings when any part of the Strata Management Act 2015 has been broken;
Claims to have a resolution thrown out because voting rights weren't given or because proper notice wasn't given;
Demands for a court to throw out a decision made at a general meeting;
Claims for a court order to stop the change of bylaws, taking into account the needs of all parcel owners;
Claims for an order to change the interest rate for late payment of maintenance fees and sinking fund contributions;
Claims for an order to change the amount of insurance to be provided;
Claims for an order to pursue an insurance claim;
Claims to force a developer, joint management body, or management corporation to give information or documents;
Claims for an order to give permission to make changes to any common property; and Claims for an order to confirm, change, or overturn the Commissioner's decision.
3. Powers
The following are things the Strata Management Tribunal can do:
Order one party to pay another party a certain amount of money; Order that the price or other consideration paid by one party be returned to that party;
Order a party to pay damages or compensation for any loss or damage they suffered;
Order the whole or part of a contract or additional bylaws to be fixed, thrown out, changed, or added to;
Order prices that don't go over RM5,000;
Order that the interest rate can't be more than 8% per year;
Throw out a claim that it thinks is stupid or annoying;
Make any order that it is allowed to make or any other order that it thinks is fair and reasonable; and Make any other orders or relief that may be needed to carry out any order made by the Tribunal.
4. Who can file a lawsuit
The Strata Management Tribunal can hear claims from the following people and groups:
Developer;
Purchaser;
Parcel owner;
Proprietor, including an original proprietor;
Joint Management Body (JMB);
Management Corporation (MC);
Subsidiary Management Corporation;
Managing agent;
and any other interested person, with the permission of the Tribunal.
5. Free access for the public
The public can watch all proceedings of the Strata Management Tribunal.
6. No legal representation by lawyers
At Strata Management Tribunal hearings, parties don't have the right to be represented by lawyers by default. But the Tribunal might let you have a lawyer if:
The legal issues are complicated, and one side will have a hard time making ends meet if the case goes the other way; and
If the Tribunal gives one party the right to a lawyer, the other party will also have the right to a lawyer.
Even though lawyers may not be able to speak on behalf of a party during Tribunal proceedings, a party bringing or defending a claim to the Tribunal can and should still get legal advice and help.
A lawyer can help a party come up with a claim or defence and prepare the forms, cause papers, and submissions that need to be filed with the Tribunal.
7. Damages (award) and adjournment
If the person who is being sued by the Tribunal doesn't file a Statement of Defence, the Tribunal may decide in favour of the claimant on the date of the hearing.
The Tribunal may also postpone the hearing to give the respondent time to file the Statement of Defence or (ii) let the respondent give his defence in person and continue with the hearing.
If one of the parties isn't there when the Tribunal is hearing the case, the Tribunal can continue with the hearing, postpone it until a later date, or make an order or award as it sees fit.
8. It is a crime to not follow the award
Under the Strata Management Act 2015, it is a crime to not follow a Tribunal Award.
If someone is found guilty and sentenced, they may have to pay a fine of up to RM250,000 or go to jail for up to 3 years, or both. For a crime that keeps happening, there will be a fine of up to RM5,000 per day or part of a day.
In July 2020, the Subang Jaya Municipal Council's Commissioner of Buildings (COB) went after a parcel owner for not paying outstanding maintenance fees as ordered by a Tribunal Award. The parcel owner was found guilty and given an RM5,500 fine by the Subang Jaya Magistrate's Court.
9. Execution of award
A Tribunal Award is treated like an order from a civil court and can be enforced by any party to the case in the same way.
If the Award is not followed, the Tribunal Secretary will send a copy to the Court, and the Court will make a copy of the Award public (also known as Ingkar Award).
After that, the party that broke the Award could face execution proceedings, such as:
Bankruptcy;
Winding-up;
Committal proceedings (court contempt);
Judgment Debtor Summons;
and Garnishee proceedings.
10. An award can be questioned by a court.
If a party is unhappy with the Tribunal's decision, they can challenge it in the High Court by filing an application for judicial review.
The request for judicial review must be made within three (3) months of when the Tribunal Award was made.
The request for judicial review will be granted if the person making it can show that the Award has a serious flaw.
"Serious irregularity" refers to a mistake of one or more of the following types that the High Court thinks has done the applicant a lot of wrong:
Failure of the Tribunal to be fair and impartial between the parties;
Failure of the Tribunal to deal with all the important issues; and
Uncertainty or ambiguity about what the Award means.
Parties can and should hire lawyers to help them in the High Court's judicial review proceedings. This would allow lawyers to advise and represent them in court.