Rules for strata property management can be tweaked further

After three rounds of public consultation over five years, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has come up with a set of 57 proposed changes (Stricter controls on MCSTs proposed to beef up governance; Aug 2).

I had offered suggestions to the National Development and Law ministries in 2011 and hoped that the BCA and the Strata Titles Board would consider my feedback on a scenario that is plainly ridiculous.

While a subsidiary proprietor’s immediate family member can be elected to an estate’s management council and can hold any of its key offices, the same individual otherwise can be barred from attending council meetings as a proxy observer.

Separately, the 30-minute postponement of annual general meetings if no quorum is met at the appointed time — after which the meeting may proceed with those present — could be cut to 15 minutes.

My observation is that a full quorum is rare, while a few stragglers who are all too familiar with this scenario arrive afterwards.

The BCA’s proposal that the Commissioner of Buildings should have the power to appoint an independent official to manage a Management Corporation Strata Title during an emergency or critical situation is logical.

But as such appointees are unlikely to come cheap, subsidiary proprietors should be made aware of what it would cost them.

Lastly, the amendment requiring council nominees to give their consent before an election seems to be a non sequitur. A nominee who is present would accept or decline straight away, and one who is not would surely have consented to the proposer and seconder.