Strata & Building Management
Enclosing your balcony or extending into a corridor
Enclosing a balcony needs the management body's prior written approval and, where required, the local authority's — by-laws 11 and 29(2) of the Third Schedule. Renovations must stay inside the parcel: by-laws 22(1) and 27(4) prohibit additions to or encroachment on common property, and by-law 22(2) consent cannot authorise an addition.
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| Best for | Owners dealing with a leak, a crack or a repair bill and needing to know whose cost it legally is. |
|---|---|
| Risk level | Medium-High |
| 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. |
Where the line is drawn
What follows takes apart management consent, local authority approval and the by-laws are three separate gates, and skipping one can force you to undo the work. Water, sound and structure cross the legal boundary between your parcel and common property without respecting it.
What you need before you start
By-laws 11 and 29(2) of the Third Schedule to the 2015 Regulations require prior written approval from the joint management body or management corporation for a balcony enclosure or a change to the exterior, and, where it is required, the approval of the local authority as well. Those are two separate consents from two separate bodies. A contractor who tells you nobody checks is describing enforcement practice, not the rule — and the rule is what applies when the building later decides to enforce.
The line you cannot buy your way across
Renovation must be confined to the parcel. By-laws 22(1) and 27(4) prohibit additions to, or encroachment on, common property outright. By-law 22(2) requires prior written consent from the management body for other alterations, and is explicit that such consent cannot authorise an addition. So a committee cannot simply approve a structure that projects into common property — the prohibition is not theirs to waive. Where a scheme does want to give an owner the use of part of the common property, by-law 4 provides a different route: the management corporation may grant exclusive use by written agreement.
What happens if you build without approval
Three consequences, and they stack. A fine of up to two hundred ringgit per breach under by-law 7(1), with ss.32(3)(i) and 70(2)(i) setting that cap. An obligation to remedy the breach immediately under by-law 16(3) — and if you do not, by-law 16(4) read with ss.21(4) and 59(3) lets the management body carry out the rectification itself and recover the expense from you as a debt. And, if it comes to that, an application by the body to the Strata Management Tribunal or the court for an injunction, enforcement or damages under ss.32(7) and 70(7).
The resale problem nobody mentions
An unapproved enclosure does not stop existing, but it does become someone else's problem to disclose. A buyer's lawyer who compares the unit against the strata plan will find it, a valuer may exclude it, and a management body under new leadership may take a different view from the one that looked away for a decade. If the structure is already there, the useful move is to seek retrospective written approval and, where the works touch common property, to ask whether a by-law 4 exclusive-use agreement is available.
Verify this against your own building
Photograph and date everything before repairs begin, and put every request to management in writing. In a leak or defect dispute the contemporaneous record is usually worth more than the argument.
Buyer checklist
Two consents and one hard limit. Prior written approval from the JMB or MC, and the local authority's approval where required — by-laws 11 and 29(2). The hard limit is that renovation must be confined to the parcel: by-laws 22(1) and 27(4) prohibit additions to, or encroachment on, common property, and by-law 22(2) makes clear that the management body's consent cannot authorise an addition. Exclusive use of part of the common property is a separate arrangement under by-law 4, by written agreement.
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| 1 | Get prior written approval from the JMB or MC under by-laws 11 and 29(2) before any quotation is accepted. |
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| 2 | Check separately whether local authority approval is required for the works. |
| 3 | Confirm the works stay inside the parcel — by-laws 22(1) and 27(4) prohibit additions to or encroachment on common property. |
| 4 | Do not rely on committee consent to authorise an addition; by-law 22(2) says it cannot. |
| 5 | If the works need part of the common property, ask about an exclusive-use agreement under by-law 4. |
| 6 | If works are already up without approval, seek retrospective approval before you list the unit for sale. |
Common questions
Do I need approval to enclose my balcony?
Yes. By-laws 11 and 29(2) of the Third Schedule require prior written approval from the JMB or management corporation and, where required, the local authority.
Can the committee approve an extension into common property?
No. By-laws 22(1) and 27(4) prohibit additions to or encroachment on common property, and by-law 22(2) states that consent for alterations cannot authorise an addition.
Is there any lawful way to use part of the common property?
By-law 4 allows the management corporation to grant exclusive use of parts of the common property by written agreement — a different route from a renovation consent.
What can management do about unapproved works?
Impose a fine of up to RM200 per breach under by-law 7(1), require immediate rectification under by-law 16(3), carry out the rectification itself and recover the cost as a debt under by-law 16(4) with ss.21(4) and 59(3), and apply to the tribunal or court under ss.32(7) and 70(7).
Lewis Chong
REN 69566 · IQI GlobalProperty advisor helping KL, JB, and Penang buyers make data-backed property decisions.
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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.
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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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Get prior written approval from the JMB or MC under by-laws 11 and 29(2) before any quotation is accepted.
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Check separately whether local authority approval is required for the works.
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Confirm the works stay inside the parcel — by-laws 22(1) and 27(4) prohibit additions to or encroachment on common property.
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Do not rely on committee consent to authorise an addition; by-law 22(2) says it cannot.