Strata & Building Management
Who is disqualified from the management committee — including for arrears
Arrears on the seventh day before the election disqualify a candidate under paragraph 2(9) of the Second Schedule — as proprietor or co-proprietor, as a corporate proprietor's nominee, or as an immediate family member of a proprietor owning two or more parcels. Proxies, under-21s and rival co-proprietors are out too.
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. |
Who actually decides
What follows takes apart an owner in arrears cannot sit or vote. That single rule decides many contested committee elections. A strata scheme is a compulsory democracy: the voters are the payers, and turnout decides your cost of ownership.
The seventh day is the date that counts
Paragraph 2(9) of the Second Schedule fixes the test at the seventh day before the election. That is a deliberate cut-off: it stops a candidate settling arrears on the morning of the meeting to qualify, and it gives the scheme a verifiable date to check the register against. If you are planning to stand, work backwards from the meeting date and make sure the payment has cleared and been recorded well before day seven, not on it.
Three ways the arrears rule reaches you
The paragraph catches three positions. As a proprietor or co-proprietor, where all or any part of the charges or sinking fund contribution for that parcel is in arrears. As the nominee of a corporate or body proprietor, where the same is true of that parcel. And as an immediate family member of a proprietor owning two or more parcels, where all or any part of the charges or sinking fund contribution in respect of any of those parcels is in arrears. That third limb is the one that surprises people: a family member standing for the committee can be disqualified by arrears on a parcel they have nothing to do with.
The other disqualifications
Three more sit alongside it. Paragraph 2(7) excludes anyone under twenty-one years of age, and anyone who is not a proprietor, an authorised nominee or an eligible immediate family member. Paragraph 2(8) excludes a proxy appointed by a proprietor — so the person you send to vote on your behalf cannot also be elected. Paragraph 2(10) excludes a co-proprietor of a parcel where another co-proprietor of that same parcel is also a candidate at that election, which prevents one parcel putting two of its owners forward for the same committee.
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
The arrears test bites on the seventh day before the election, not on the day itself. Paragraph 2(9) disqualifies a candidate where all or any part of the charges or sinking fund contribution for the parcel is in arrears — whether they stand as proprietor or co-proprietor, as the nominee of a corporate or body proprietor, or as an immediate family member of a proprietor who owns two or more parcels. Separately, paragraph 2(7) excludes anyone under twenty-one or who is not a proprietor, authorised nominee or eligible family member; 2(8) excludes a proxy; and 2(10) excludes a co-proprietor where another co-proprietor of the same parcel is also standing.
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| 1 | Count back seven days from the election date — that is when the arrears test applies. |
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| 2 | Settle every parcel you are connected to, and get a dated receipt for each. |
| 3 | If you are standing as a family member of a multi-parcel owner, check all of that owner's parcels, not just yours. |
| 4 | Do not appoint yourself as someone's proxy if you intend to stand — paragraph 2(8) excludes proxies. |
| 5 | If a co-proprietor of your parcel is also standing, paragraph 2(10) means only one of you can. |
Common questions
When is the arrears test applied?
On the seventh day before the election, under paragraph 2(9) of the Second Schedule.
Can I pay off the arrears on the day of the AGM and still stand?
No. The test is fixed at the seventh day before the election, so a payment made afterwards does not restore eligibility for that election.
I am standing as a family member of an owner with several units. Does that matter?
Yes. Paragraph 2(9) disqualifies an immediate family member of a proprietor owning two or more parcels where all or any part of the charges or sinking fund contribution for any of those parcels is in arrears.
Can a proxy be elected to the committee?
No. Paragraph 2(8) makes a proxy appointed by a proprietor ineligible for election.
My co-owner and I both want to stand. Can we?
Not at the same election. Paragraph 2(10) disqualifies a co-proprietor where another co-proprietor of the same parcel is also a candidate.
Lewis Chong
REN 69566 · IQI GlobalProperty advisor helping KL, JB, and Penang buyers make data-backed property decisions.
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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.
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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.
What actually happens if you stop paying maintenance charges
Stopping payment of maintenance charges triggers a statutory sequence, not a negotiation: a Form 11 notice from a JMB (s.34(1)) or Form 20 from a management corporation (s.78(1)) giving not less than 14 days, interest capped at 10% per annum, then a debt claim, a warrant of attachment over your movable property, or criminal prosecution.
Lewis Conclusion
Withholding charges is the one protest that cannot work, because arrears also disqualify you from the committee and from voting — the exact levers you would need to fix whatever you are protesting about. Pay under protest, then fight it at the tribunal or the AGM where you still have standing.
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Count back seven days from the election date — that is when the arrears test applies.
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Settle every parcel you are connected to, and get a dated receipt for each.
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If you are standing as a family member of a multi-parcel owner, check all of that owner's parcels, not just yours.
Send
Do not appoint yourself as someone's proxy if you intend to stand — paragraph 2(8) excludes proxies.