Home owners call for stronger management rules in ageing condos

Audit system for key services, minimum sinking fund contribution rate among ideas

- Joyce Lim

At one 48-year-old private housing estate in Upper Thomson Road, the signs of deterioration are clear.

Lifts are due for replacement, there is spalling concrete and water seepage in the carpark, and the sinking fund cannot cover repair costs.

But some residents say these issues might have been mitigated with early guidance on technical matters from qualified persons, as well as financial planning support.

The news that the Government is reviewing the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act, to better enable management corporation strata titles (MCSTs) to upgrade their developments, is therefore welcome.

In recent months, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has conducted focus group discussions with MCSTs, managing agents and industry associations to better understand various perspectives.

These talks also aim to allow participants to share best practices and explore options to allow better support in strengthening self-governance and sustaining the maintenance of their developments, a BCA spokeswoman told The Straits Times.

She added that feedback received will be carefully considered as part of BCA's ongoing review of the Act.

The Act was last amended in 2017. The changes, which took effect in 2019, aimed to strengthen governance, safeguard home owners' interests, and clarify stakeholders' roles and responsibilities.

The review comes as more condominiums struggle with deteriorating infrastructure and insufficient sinking funds for major repairs.

Real estate agency ERA Singapore estimated that there are 2,703 condo developments in Singapore today, of which 836 or 31 per cent are at least 30 years old.

This number is expected to climb to 1,160 by 2035, assuming none is sold en bloc.