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2025 MarsdenLR 2237
SESSION COURT KUALA LUMPUR
MENARA SAFUAN JOINT MANAGEMENT BODY – Appellant
Versus
CBAL SDN BHD (ENCLS 12 & 13) – Respondent
[Civil Suit No: WA-B52NCvC-36-01/2023]
The defendant is strictly liable to pay maintenance charges under the Strata Management Act 2013, regardless of service quality or other defenses raised.
Headnote:(A) Strata Management Act 2013 - Sections 25 and 34 - Statutory claim for maintenance charges - Plaintiff, a Joint Management Body, claimed RM594,827.00 from the defendant for unpaid maintenance charges from 2017 to November 2022 - Defendant's failure to pay constitutes a statutory offence under Section 34 - Court found that the defendant is legally bound to pay the charges as per the Act - The defendant's claims of inadequate maintenance and other defenses were dismissed as invalid - The plaintiff's evidence was credible and sufficient to establish the claim. (Paras 1-63)
(B) Legal Responsibility - The defendant, as a parcel owner, has a strict liability to pay maintenance charges regardless of dissatisfaction with services provided - The court emphasized that payment obligations are not conditional on the quality of services rendered. (Paras 25-29)
Facts of the case:
The plaintiff, a Joint Management Body, filed a claim against the defendant for unpaid maintenance charges amounting to RM594,827.00 from 2017 until November 2022, following the statutory provisions of the Strata Management Act 2013. The defendant failed to make payments despite receiving regular statements. (Paras 2-12)
Findings of Court:
The court found that the defendant is legally obligated to pay the maintenance charges as stipulated by the Strata Management Act 2013, and the defenses raised by the defendant were not valid. (Paras 25-29, 57-63)
Issues: The main issue was whether the defendant is wholly responsible for the maintenance charges as per the provisions of the Strata Management Act 2013. (Paras 16-16)
Ratio Decidendi: The court ruled that the defendant's obligation to pay maintenance charges is a strict liability under the Strata Management Act 2013, and dissatisfaction with services does not exempt the defendant from this obligation. (Paras 25-29)
Result: Claim allowed with costs.
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. defendant appeals against judgment (Para 1 , 2 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9) |
| 2. plaintiff's statutory establishment (Para 3 , 4 , 5) |
| 3. defendant's failure to pay (Para 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14) |
| 4. defendant's pleaded defenses (Para 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19) |
| 5. defendant's legal responsibility (Para 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62) |
| 6. claim allowed with costs (Para 63) |
JUDGMENT
Background
[1] The defendant/owner of a parcel in a property files an appeal against the judgment of the Court in allowing the plaintiff's/Joint Management Body's statutory claim after full trial.
[2] In brief, the plaintiff claims against the defendant for the statutory payment of maintenance, services and other charges in the sum of RM594,827.00-3 from 2017 until 2 November 2022 pursuance to Strata Management Act 2013 [ SMA 2013].
Facts
[3] The plaintiff is statutorily established under the Building and Common Property (Maintenance And Management) Act 2007.
[4] The plaintiff is a body known as Joint Management Body [JMB]. The body comprised of the developer and strata owners/purchasers.
[5] The plaintiff's legal duty under SMA 2013 is to maintain the common areas of a building, manage the building funds and collect the maintenance charges from the owner of the unit.
[6] In the present case, the plaintiff manages a strata building known as Menara Safuan at Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.
[7] The defendant is the owner of the parcel at Unit 23-02 of Menara Safuan.
[8] The plaintiff has been carrying out management and maintenance of Menara Safuan.
[9] As an ordinary course of business, the plaintiff has been regularly issuing monthly statement on the maintenance charges to the defendant.
[10] However the defendant has failed to make payment to the plaintiff.
[11] The plaintiff then issued notice of demand dated 2 November 2022 to the defendant. The notice is as in Form 11, Strata Management (Maintenance And Management) Regulations 2015. See the notice at p 265 of IDB.
[12] Due to the defendant's refusal to affect the above payment, the plaintiff files the present suit before this Court .
[13] The plaintiff has called 3 witnesses namely;
(a) Naina Mohamed bin Sultan Abdul Kadir, office bearer of plaintiff [SP1];
(b) Wong Wai Onn, property manager by the plaintif [SP2]; and
(c) Nurliyana Afiqah binti Mazlan, account manager of the plaintiff [SP3].
[14] On the other hand, the defendant has called only one witness, Mat Sham bin Ahmad, who is the director and shareholder of defendant [SD1].
Pleaded Defence
[15] In brief, the pleaded defences are as follows:
1. The plaintiff has failed, neglected, and/or refused to maintain Menara Safuan and its common areas adequately;
2. The plaintiff has wound up the developer, Menara Safuan Sdn Bhd;
3. The plaintiff inconsistently has imposed maintenance charges on all unit owners; and
4. The defendant has yet obtained a strata title.
Main Issue
[16] To this Court 's humble view, the main and critical issue is whether the defendant is wholly responsible for the entire sum of maintenance charges, including maintenance fees, sinking fund contributions, quit rent, assessment, insurance, late interest in accordance with the provisions of SMA 2013.
The Law
[17] Section 25 of the SMA 2013 imposes a statutory duty on the plaintiff to collect charges, including maintenance charges from parcel owners for the maintenance and management of Menara Safuan. See s 25 as follows:
"Parcel owners to pay Charges, and contribution to the sinking fund, to the joint management body
25(1). Each purchaser shall pay the Charges, and contribution to the sinking fund, in respect of his parcel to the joint management body for the maintenance and management of the buildings or lands intended for subdivision into parcels and the common property in a development area."
