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How to resolve disputes with your condominium management or MCST (with 99.co)

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Condominium management or MCST dispute in Singapore, Asia Law Network
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Zhi Xin Tan

Zhi Xin represents and advises clients facing a diverse range of legal problems. While her main area of practice is Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution, her areas of work include the following: General Debt Recovery, Landlord & Tenancy Issues, Construction Disputes, Employment Law, Wills, Trusts, & Probate, Appointment of Deputy under the Mental Capacity Act, Family Law, and Advisory and Drafting Work relating to Commercial Agreements. Zhi Xin is also an Associate Mediator with the Singapore Mediation Centre and is also one of the resident lawyers at the Jurong Spring Community Centre Legal Clinic.

Comments (2)
  1. LH Ge says:

    Thanks for this helpful overview. Above, you note that:
    “Does the management owe the same responsibilities to people who rent as to the people who own the condo unit?
    Yes. Technically speaking, the duties are owed by the management committee irrespective of the status of the occupiers.”
    Can you please clarify? The management council represents the SPs, not the tenants. Each tenant will have a contractual relationship with an SP. If the tenant has a concern, then legally speaking, that concern needs to go through the SP to the council. Practically speaking, the MC might entertain a legitimate concern from the tenant directly. Let me know if I am misreading what you wrote.

    1. Sharon Tan says:

      Hi LH Ge,

      Thank you for asking these questions! We’ve gotten a reply from the lawyer, Zhi Xin. Please see below.

      Reply from Lawyer Zhi Xin

      Firstly, thank you for your review and for your question.

      To clarify, the general duties that the MC has under the BMSMA are not owed to the SP or occupiers – the MC owe such duties by virtue of its role as the MC. To illustrate, with regards to property (s.29 of the BMSMA), the MC has a duty to control, manage, maintain, keep in proper repair, and administer the common property. Whether the occupiers are tenants or SPs/owners does not change this duty, albeit only the SPs have standing to bring a legal claim.

      As for the topic on meetings that you have brought up, with regards to rights and duties, the MC has a duty to convene meetings, and SPs have the right to raise an issue through the agenda. The MC is not under a duty to resolve the issue – rather, the issue is ventilated during the meeting proceedings and it will be put to a vote.

      With regards to the scenario that you have raised, it is not a question of what duties the MC owes, but rather, where a tenant should go to get an issue addressed – this really depends on the issue. For instance, if the tenant wants to change a by-law, then the tenant will have to go through his landlord, the SP, to bring it up during a meeting. If the issue is on the repair or maintenance of condo facilities, the tenant can approach the management office directly. It is the MC’s duty to attend to repairs and maintenance within a reasonable time.

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