Strata & Building Management
The inter-floor leak procedure step by step — forms, timelines and refusal of access
Part XV of the 2015 Regulations (regs 55-64) sets the whole procedure: inspection within 7 days of notice, Form 28 certificate within 5 days of inspection, rectification within 7 days of Form 28, and 7 days' written notice for access — with refusal of access an offence carrying up to RM50,000 or three years.
Quick summary
Quick answer
Best for
Risk level
Buyer action
| 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. |
The boundary that decides the bill
This post works through there is a prescribed process with forms and deadlines. Following it is what turns a neighbour argument into an enforceable claim. The Act and the 2015 Regulations answer these questions directly, including who is presumed responsible.
The clock: inspection in 7 days, certificate in 5
Once you give the managing body written notice of the leakage, regulation 57 requires it to carry out an inspection of the affected parcel, the upper parcel and any relevant common property as soon as practically possible, or within seven days of receiving the notice. Regulation 59 then requires it to issue the certificate — Form 28, the Certificate of Inspection of Inter-Floor Leakage or Damage to a Party Wall — within five days of completing that inspection, unless the Commissioner of Buildings grants an extension of time. The managing body here can be the developer, a joint management body, a management corporation, a subsidiary management corporation or an appointed managing agent, depending on the stage the building is at.
What Form 28 does
Form 28 is the document the whole procedure turns on. It is served on the affected owner and on the party found responsible, and it states the determined cause of the leakage and declares who must repair the defect. In making that determination, regulation 58(a) requires the s.142 presumption to be taken into account, and regulation 58(b) deems a defect in a pipe or duct serving more than one parcel to be a defect of the common property. So Form 28 is not an opinion letter — it is a certificate issued under a prescribed process, and it is the document you will rely on if the matter goes further.
Seven days to rectify, whoever is responsible
If the leak is caused by or attributable to a particular parcel, that parcel's owner must take all necessary measures to rectify it within seven days of receiving Form 28 — regulation 61(1). If the leak is attributable to the common property or limited common property and occurs after the defect liability period, the managing body must take all necessary steps to rectify within seven days of the date Form 28 is issued — regulation 62. Where the leak falls inside the defect liability period of the common property and is due to defective workmanship or materials, Form 27, the Notice of Claim Against Common Property Defects Account, is the instrument instead, prescribed under regulation 50(4) and referenced in regulation 60(2).
Access, refusal, and forcible entry in an emergency
Whoever is carrying out the inspection or the rectification works must be granted access to the relevant parcel or common property on giving seven days' written notice — regulation 63(1). Refusing that access is not a stalling tactic with no consequence: under regulation 63(2) a purchaser, parcel owner, proprietor or occupier who fails to grant access commits an offence, and on conviction is liable to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand ringgit, imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or both. In an emergency the seven days does not apply at all — regulation 63(3) permits forcible entry, with regulation 63(4) defining an emergency as any circumstance that materially increases the likelihood of flooding or danger to life or property resulting from the leakage.
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
Give written notice of the leak. The managing body must inspect as soon as practically possible or within 7 days (reg 57). It must then issue Form 28 — the Certificate of Inspection of Inter-Floor Leakage — within 5 days of completing the inspection, unless the Commissioner grants an extension (reg 59). A parcel owner found responsible must rectify within 7 days of receiving Form 28 (reg 61(1)); where the cause is common property after the defect liability period, the managing body must rectify within 7 days of issue (reg 62).
1
2
3
4
5
6
| 1 | Give written notice of the leakage to the managing body and keep a dated copy — the 7-day inspection clock starts there. |
|---|---|
| 2 | Diarise 7 days for the inspection (reg 57) and 5 days after it for Form 28 (reg 59). |
| 3 | Read Form 28 carefully: it names the cause and the party responsible, and it is the document you rely on later. |
| 4 | Count 7 days from receipt of Form 28 for rectification (reg 61(1) for a parcel owner, reg 62 for common property). |
| 5 | If access is needed, give the 7 days' written notice under reg 63(1) — and note refusal is an offence under reg 63(2). |
| 6 | If there is a flooding or safety emergency, reg 63(3) and (4) allow entry without the 7 days. |
Common questions
How quickly must management inspect after I report a leak?
As soon as practically possible, or within seven days of receiving the notice — regulation 57 of the 2015 Regulations.
What is Form 28?
The Certificate of Inspection of Inter-Floor Leakage or Damage to a Party Wall, prescribed under regulation 59. It states the determined cause and declares who must repair the defect, and must be issued within five days of completing the inspection unless the Commissioner grants an extension.
How long does the responsible party have to fix it?
Seven days. A parcel owner must rectify within seven days of receiving Form 28 (reg 61(1)); where the cause is common property after the defect liability period, the managing body must rectify within seven days of issue (reg 62).
My upstairs neighbour will not let anyone in. What now?
Access must be granted on seven days' written notice under reg 63(1). Failing to grant it is an offence under reg 63(2), carrying a fine not exceeding RM50,000, imprisonment not exceeding three years, or both.
What if water is pouring in right now?
Regulation 63(3) waives the seven-day notice in an emergency and permits forcible entry. Regulation 63(4) defines an emergency as a circumstance materially increasing the likelihood of flooding or danger to life or property from the leakage.
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.
Water from the unit above
Section 142 of Act 757 presumes that a leak showing as dampness or water penetration on your ceiling comes from the parcel, common property or limited common property immediately above. You do not have to prove the source — the burden shifts upstairs.
Lewis Conclusion
Do not spend money proving where the water came from. Photograph the ceiling, date it, and give written notice to the management body — the statutory presumption does the heavy lifting, and the inspection procedure is what converts it into a repair obligation on someone else.
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
Give written notice of the leakage to the managing body and keep a dated copy — the 7-day inspection clock starts there.
Send
Diarise 7 days for the inspection (reg 57) and 5 days after it for Form 28 (reg 59).
Send
Read Form 28 carefully: it names the cause and the party responsible, and it is the document you rely on later.
Send
Count 7 days from receipt of Form 28 for rectification (reg 61(1) for a parcel owner, reg 62 for common property).