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Who owns what? Visioncrest residents want to know

A spat over the use of facilities such as the swimming pool, tennis courts and car park spaces at Visioncrest has broken out and several irate residents plan to ask the Strata Titles Board (STB) to decide on exactly what common areas and facilities of the mixed development belong to them.

A spat over the use of facilities such as the swimming pool, tennis courts and car park spaces at Visioncrest has broken out and several irate residents plan to ask the Strata Titles Board (STB) to decide on exactly what common areas and facilities of the mixed development belong to them.

The outcome of the fight at Visioncrest at Oxley Road opposite the Istana — comprising a commercial building, several residential blocks and a school — could be important for other mixed developments like The Sail, Burlington Square, The Ion and The Plaza.

The Visioncrest residents’ ire was raised after condominium manager Teddy Khong issued a letter to remind them that they are living in a mixed development and that the common areas and facilities are shared by all.

“All subsidiary proprietors in Visioncrest (comprising owners of the strata lots in the 11-storey commercial block, residential blocks with 265 apartments and the House of Tan Yeok Nee) have unity of possession as co-proprietors over all common property in Visioncrest, which includes the common facilities such as swimming pools, gym area, function room, a tennis court, etc, with a total area of 14,005 square metres,” Mr Khong said in his letter.

“Common property in Visioncrest is held by all subsidiary proprietors as tenants in common in shares proportional to their respective share values and for the same term and tenure as the respective lots held by them.”

It appears that the Management Committee of the Strata Title for Visioncrest intends to incorporate the common usage of facilities into its by-laws.

One resident, who has asked his lawyer to respond to Mr Khong’s letter, has, however, pointed out that all three properties on the mixed development are clearly demarcated and are accessible by different key codes. He also noted that nearly all the facilities are within the residential area.

“I don’t think it was the intention of the developer (a Wing Tai Holdings-led consortium) to provide the owners of the commercial block and the House of Tan Yeok Nee facilities like the swimming pool, the tennis court and the jacuzzi,” the resident said.

“And if you look at the residences sales brochure, you’ll see that these facilities were offered to the owners of the residences and not to tenants of the commercial block,” he added.

“My sales and purchase agreement clearly states that 272 car parks are meant for the residents while the commercial block is allotted 132 car park lots. There have already been some ugly disputes and quarrels over the use of the gym and car parks,” he said.

“Perhaps the commercial block and the residential block should each have their own management committees to look after their respective rights.”

Mr Khong had written: “The key element in strata living is harmony, co-operation and understanding among all subsidiary proprietors and tenants”.

To which the resident responded: “I am willing to allow some usage for the sake of harmonious living, but it should be regarded as a privilege and not be incorporated as a right in the by-laws.”

While the size of the commercial block at 13,440 sq m is only 57 per cent that of the residential blocks’ 23,460 sq m, the former has a greater share value — 48,599 shares versus 45,315 shares.

The House of Tan Yeok Nee, which is tenanted out to the Chicago Booth School of Business, occupies 3,101 sq m and has 6,086 shares. The share values represent the proportionate entitlement assigned to each individual strata unit under a master strata title.

Owners of the residential and commercial areas also pay different rates for the management and sinking funds. Home owners pay S$4.31 per month per sqm, while those who own the commercial property are charged S$8.06.

In 2007, Wing Tai sold The House of Tan Yeok Nee together with the Visioncrest commercial office block to German real estate fund Union Investment Real Estate for S$260 million. In 2012, The House of Tan Yeok Nee was sold for a reported S$60 million to Singapore-based investment firm ERC, controlled by entrepreneur Andy Ong.

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