Strata & Building Management
COB or tribunal? Choosing the right body for your strata complaint
The Commissioner of Buildings regulates and directs; the Strata Management Tribunal adjudicates and awards. The COB appoints and supervises a managing agent under ss.86 to 89 and reviews a developer's charge rate; the tribunal decides claims under s.105(1) — and can affirm, vary or revoke a decision of the Commissioner.
Quick summary
Quick answer
Best for
Risk level
Buyer action
| Best for | Owners deciding whether, where and when to bring a strata claim. |
|---|---|
| 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. |
Your actual remedy
What follows takes apart one regulates and directs, the other adjudicates and awards. Sending your complaint to the wrong one gets it filed away. An award is enforceable, and ignoring one is an offence rather than merely a debt.
What the Commissioner does
The Commissioner of Buildings is a regulator with appointment and supervision powers. Where no joint management committee can be elected at the first AGM, or where the Commissioner is satisfied after due inquiry that maintenance and management are not being carried out satisfactorily, s.86(1) allows the appointment of a managing agent. The Commissioner then specifies the duration under s.86(1), agrees or determines the fees under s.86(3), approves the bond under s.88, and gives the agent general directions under s.89(2). Separately, paragraph 11(5)(a) of the Second Schedule allows the Commissioner to authorise a person to convene an EGM where the management committee is not properly constituted, and a purchaser dissatisfied with the charge determined during the developer's management period may apply to the Commissioner for a review.
What the tribunal does
The Strata Management Tribunal decides disputes. Section 105(1) gives it jurisdiction where the award sought does not exceed RM250,000, across the heads listed in Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule — performance of duties, repair costs and defects, recovery of charges, orders to convene meetings, orders invalidating meeting proceedings or nullifying resolutions, revoking by-law amendments, varying the late-payment interest rate, insurance, compelling supply of documents, and consent to alterations to common property. Section 105(3) keeps out anything in which title to land, or an estate or interest in land, is in question.
The overlap that matters
One head of claim in Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule connects the two: a claim to affirm, vary or revoke a decision of the Commissioner of Buildings. That is the route when the Commissioner has decided something you disagree with — a charge review, an appointment, a direction. It also means the Commissioner is not the last word, which owners often assume. The sequence is regulator first, adjudicator second, rather than a choice between them.
Choosing in practice
Two questions settle it. First, do you want someone made to act, or do you want a decision? An unresponsive management body that has not held meetings or produced accounts is a supervision problem — build the documented case and take it to the Commissioner. A specific sum, a resolution you say was invalid, or documents being withheld is an adjudication problem — take it to the tribunal. Second, is title to land in question? If yes, neither forum has it, and the answer is the courts.
Verify this against your own building
Check the current jurisdiction limit and filing procedure on KPKT's tribunal page before you file, and diarise the limitation date the day the dispute starts. Filing late is the most common way a good claim dies.
Buyer checklist
Go to the Commissioner when you want something supervised or someone put in place: a managing agent appointed under s.86(1) where management is unsatisfactory after due inquiry, an EGM convened under paragraph 11(5)(a) of the Second Schedule, or a review of the charge rate set during the developer's management period. Go to the tribunal when you want a binding decision on a dispute within s.105(1) and Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule — including, notably, a claim to affirm, vary or revoke a decision of the Commissioner.
1
2
3
4
5
| 1 | Decide what outcome you want: supervision and an appointment, or a binding decision on a sum or a resolution. |
|---|---|
| 2 | For the Commissioner, build the documented case that survives due inquiry — meetings not held, accounts not produced, notices ignored. |
| 3 | For the tribunal, match the complaint to a head in Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule and confirm the sum is within RM250,000. |
| 4 | If the Commissioner has already decided against you, note the tribunal can affirm, vary or revoke that decision. |
| 5 | If title to land is in question, s.105(3) puts the matter outside the tribunal — that is a court case. |
Common questions
Should I complain to the COB or file at the tribunal?
The Commissioner regulates and appoints — a managing agent under s.86(1), or authorising an EGM under paragraph 11(5)(a) of the Second Schedule. The tribunal decides claims within s.105(1) and Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule.
Can the tribunal overturn a Commissioner's decision?
Yes. Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule includes a claim to affirm, vary or revoke a decision of the Commissioner of Buildings.
Who reviews the maintenance rate set by a developer?
A purchaser who is not satisfied may apply to the Commissioner of Buildings for a review during the developer's management period.
What if my dispute is about who owns a parcel?
Section 105(3) excludes any claim in which title to land, or an estate or interest in land, is in question. That goes to the courts.
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.
When no committee can be formed
Two different rescues, two different bodies. The Commissioner of Buildings appoints a managing agent under s.86(1) where management is unsatisfactory or no committee can be elected. An administrator is appointed only by a court under s.76(1), and takes over the management corporation's powers to its exclusion under s.76(3).
Lewis Conclusion
Get the vocabulary right before you write to anyone. If you want the Commissioner to step in, you are asking for a managing agent and the ground is unsatisfactory management after due inquiry. If you want an administrator, you are going to court. Sending the wrong request to the right body wastes months.
How your maintenance charge is actually calculated — share units, not floor area
Malaysian maintenance charges are apportioned by allocated share units under the Strata Management Act 2013, not by floor area — s.8(1) sends the computation to the First Schedule, and s.12(3), s.25(3) and s.60(3) apply it through the developer, JMB and MC periods. Here is how to read your own bill and when a different rate is lawful.
Lewis Conclusion
If you only remember one thing: ask for your share unit figure, not your square footage. It is the number that sets your bill and your vote for as long as you own the unit, and it is printed on documents you are entitled to see.
The sinking fund explained
The sinking fund is a statutory capital reserve set at a minimum of 10% of the maintenance charge under ss.12(4), 25(4), 52(3), 61(3) and 68(3) of Act 757. It may only be spent on capital items — painting, replacing fixtures, upgrading common property — and a general meeting may raise the rate but never drop it below 10%.
Lewis Conclusion
Ask two questions before you buy into any high-rise: what is the sinking fund balance, and when were the lifts, the roof and the external paint last done. If the balance is small and those items are old, the shortfall is coming to you as a special levy — it is only a question of which year.
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
Decide what outcome you want: supervision and an appointment, or a binding decision on a sum or a resolution.
Send
For the Commissioner, build the documented case that survives due inquiry — meetings not held, accounts not produced, notices ignored.
Send
For the tribunal, match the complaint to a head in Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule and confirm the sum is within RM250,000.
Send
If the Commissioner has already decided against you, note the tribunal can affirm, vary or revoke that decision.