Strata & Building Management
Your motion was rejected for being late: was that lawful?
A proprietor's motion must be deposited in writing at the registered office of the management corporation not less than seven days before the meeting — Second Schedule paragraph 13(1). Meet that deadline and the motion goes on the agenda; miss it and rejection is lawful.
Quick summary
Quick answer
Best for
Risk level
Buyer action
| Best for | Owners who want a say in how their building is run, and anyone deciding whether to stand for the committee. |
|---|---|
| Risk level | Medium |
| Buyer action | Send Lewis your building name, the charge you pay and what you are trying to decide, and he will tell you what to check first. |
The rules behind the vote
What follows takes apart the Act sets the notice period for member motions. Management cannot shorten it, and cannot ignore a motion that met it. Every figure and deadline below comes from Act 757 or its Third Schedule.
The rule, in full
Paragraph 13(1) of the Second Schedule to Act 757 provides that a proprietor must deposit their written notice of motion at the registered office of the management corporation not less than seven days before the meeting. There is no discretion in it and no shorter route. The deadline counts backwards from the meeting date. A motion deposited on day six is late; a motion emailed to a committee member's personal address is not deposited at the registered office; a motion raised verbally from the floor is not a notice of motion at all.
Why the seven days exists
The notice of meeting goes out at least fourteen days beforehand under paragraph 12(1), carrying the agenda and the audited accounts. Owners then have a week to read them and formulate motions, and the scheme has the final week to circulate anything added. Without the seven-day cut-off, the agenda would still be moving on the morning of the meeting and owners who read the papers carefully would arrive to vote on items they had never seen. The deadline protects the value of the fourteen days, not the convenience of the committee.
If your motion is refused
First establish the fact you need: the date of deposit and the date of the meeting. If your motion was deposited seven or more days before the meeting at the registered office, its rejection is a procedural matter you can raise — put it in writing before the meeting, and ask for the reason under paragraph 13(1). If it was genuinely late, the refusal is correct and the practical answer is to requisition an extraordinary general meeting or to lodge the same motion in time for the next one. Arguing the merits of a late motion is a losing position; arguing the timing of a timely one is not.
Verify this against your own building
Check your own scheme's by-laws and the notice actually issued for your meeting — deadlines and quorum rules are statutory, but schemes add valid variations. Where a decision looks irregular, put the objection in writing before the meeting, not after.
Buyer checklist
Seven days, in writing, at the registered office. That is the whole rule in paragraph 13(1) of the Second Schedule. It runs backwards from the meeting date, not from the notice date, and it is the reason a motion handed to the chairman on the day is properly refused.
1
2
3
4
5
| 1 | Count seven days backwards from the meeting date, not from the date the notice reached you. |
|---|---|
| 2 | Deposit the motion in writing at the registered office of the management corporation, not with an individual committee member. |
| 3 | Get a dated acknowledgement of deposit and keep it. |
| 4 | If the motion is refused despite being timely, raise paragraph 13(1) in writing before the meeting. |
| 5 | If it was genuinely late, prepare it properly for the next meeting or consider requisitioning an EGM. |
Common questions
How far in advance must I submit a motion for the AGM?
Not less than seven days before the meeting, in writing, deposited at the registered office of the management corporation — Second Schedule paragraph 13(1).
Can I raise a motion from the floor on the day?
A verbal motion from the floor is not a notice of motion under paragraph 13(1), so the chair may properly decline to put it.
Is emailing a committee member enough?
The paragraph requires deposit at the registered office of the management corporation. Sending it to an individual's personal address does not satisfy that.
My motion was on time but was rejected. What now?
Put the deposit date and the meeting date in writing before the meeting and ask for the basis of the refusal under paragraph 13(1). Keep the acknowledgement of deposit as proof.
Lewis Chong
REN 69566 · IQI GlobalProperty advisor helping KL, JB, and Penang buyers make data-backed property decisions.
Related reading
Use one buyer framework across different news.
Strata AGMs and Proxies: Your Vote as a Foreign Owner
A grounded look at how JMB/MC governance decides your maintenance fees and building quality, and how to exercise your vote by proxy from Singapore — written for Singaporeans weighing Malaysian property in 2026.
Lewis Conclusion
I judge a building's future by its AGM attendance sheet as much as its gym. Buildings where absent owners send informed proxies keep their fees honest and their sinking funds real; buildings where nobody votes get exactly the management they didn't vote for.
Skipping the AGM costs you money — here is exactly what gets decided there
One meeting a year sets the charge rate, approves the accounts, elects the committee and can change the by-laws. Notice must reach you at least 14 days beforehand with the audited accounts attached — and after thirty minutes, whoever is in the room becomes the quorum.
Lewis Conclusion
Two hours a year decides what you pay for the next twelve months and who spends it. If you genuinely cannot attend, the forty-eight-hour proxy deadline is the whole of your participation — and a proxy can hold only one owner's vote, so send it early to someone who is not already carrying another.
Quorum, proxies and adjournment
Quorum for a general meeting is one half of the proprietors entitled to vote, in person or by proxy (Second Schedule para 15(1)) — but if it is not met within half an hour, those present become the quorum (para 15(2)). Proxies must be deposited 48 hours ahead and one person may hold only one proxy (paras 18(5), 18(4)).
Lewis Conclusion
Paragraph 15(2) is the rule that decides who runs your building. Thirty minutes after the appointed time, whoever bothered to show up is the quorum — and their votes bind everyone who did not. If you cannot attend, the 48-hour proxy deadline is the only thing standing between your vote and irrelevance.
Prefer Lewis to contact you?
Tell Lewis your budget and area — get a hand-picked 3-project shortlist with price, rental and risk notes on WhatsApp.
Prefer to chat directly? WhatsApp Lewis
Decision check
Want Lewis to apply this to your shortlist?
Send your budget, preferred area, purpose and timeline. Lewis can turn the news into a practical project comparison.
Send
Count seven days backwards from the meeting date, not from the date the notice reached you.
Send
Deposit the motion in writing at the registered office of the management corporation, not with an individual committee member.
Send
Get a dated acknowledgement of deposit and keep it.
Send
If the motion is refused despite being timely, raise paragraph 13(1) in writing before the meeting.