Thursday, January 17, 2008

No Escaping From Paying Maintenance Charges

Settle your maintenance charges or risk having your assets sealed.

The Building and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act 2007, or Act 663 provided for such action under the following sections:

23. Purchaser to pay maintenance charges
(1) The purchaser shall pay the charges for the maintenance and management of the common property.
(2) The apportionment of the charges to be paid by the purchasers shall be determined by the Body in proportion to the allocated share units.
(3) Any written notice served on the purchaser requesting for the payment of the charges shall be supported by a statement of the charges, issued by the developer or Body, as the case may be, stating in detail the categories of expenditure in respect of which the charges are to be paid.
(4) The purchaser shall, within fourteen days of receiving a notice under subsection (3), pay the charges requested for.
(5) If the charges remain unpaid by the purchaser at the expiration of the period of fourteen days specified in subsection (4), the purchaser shall pay interest at the rate to be determined by the Body under paragraph 6(1)(d) but such interest shall not exceed 10 percent per annum.

33. Recovery of arrears of charges
(1) Where the amount of charges payable is in arrears for six months, the Commissioner may, at the request of the developers or Body, issue a warrant of attachment in Form B of the Second Schedule authorizing the attachment of any movable property belonging to the purchaser which may be found in the parcel or elsewhere within the local authority area.
(2) No warrant of attachment shall be issued by the Commissioner unless the Commissioner has served a notice in Form A of the Second Schedule on the purchaser or any one of the purchasers of the parcel, if more than one, requesting him to pay the arrears within fourteen days of the service by posting or delivery.
(3) The warrant shall be executed by an officer from the office of the Commissioner who shall be make an inventory of the property attached and at the same time give notice in Form C of the Second Schedule to the person who at the time of attachment appears to be the person in possession of the property.
(4) Such officer may, in the daytime, effect forcible entry into any parcel or building or any part of the parcel or building for the purpose of effecting the attachment.
(5) Unless the arrears and the collection charges are paid within seven days of the attachment of the property, the property attached shall be sold by public auction.
(6) Where any amount is recovered by the Commissioner under this section, the Commissioner may deduct from such amount collection charges of such amount as may be prescribed by the Minister, with the concurrence of the State Authority.
(7) Any amount received by the Commissioner, after deduction of the collection charges, shall be deposited into the Building Maintenance Fund as soon as practicable.
(8) Any surplus, after the deduction of any amount by the Commissioner under subsection (6), shall be paid to the person who, at the time of the attachment was or appeared to be in possession of the property.

34. Failure or refusal to pay charges
Any person who, without any reasonable excuse, fails or refuses to pay maintenance and management charges commits an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding five thousand ringgit and shall also be liable to a further fine not exceeding fifty ringgit for every day during which the offence is continued after the conviction.

Please refer to Act663 at http://Groups.Yahoo.com/Group/SriPelangi

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