Strata & Building Management
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.
Quick summary
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Buyer action
| Best for | Owners questioning what they pay, and buyers modelling the holding cost of a high-rise before they commit. |
|---|---|
| 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. |
What this actually costs you
This post works through most owners assume charge = size × a rate. The Act says share units, and the difference is why two same-size units pay differently. Maintenance charges are the one property cost that never stops and never shows up in a launch brochure's affordability table.
Share units, not square feet
Section 8(1) of the Strata Management Act 2013 says allocated share units are computed using the formula in the First Schedule. That formula takes in more than area — it also reflects the type of parcel and, in a mixed scheme, the different uses in the building. This is why the owner of a 1,000 sq ft unit and the owner of a 1,000 sq ft unit two floors up can hold slightly different share units, and why a retail lot in the podium can hold a very different figure again. Once you know your share units, the arithmetic is trivial: charge = share units × rate per share unit. Everything owners argue about is really an argument about one of those two numbers.
The same rule follows the building through three management periods
The Act repeats the apportionment rule at every stage of a building's life. During the developer's management period the charge is apportioned in proportion to allocated share units (s.12(3)). When the Joint Management Body takes over, the same rule applies (s.25(3)). During the developer's preliminary management period before the management corporation's first AGM, charges follow the share units assigned to each parcel. Once the management corporation is in place, charges follow the share units or provisional share units of the parcels and provisional blocks. The consistency matters: a change of management is not a lawful occasion to change the basis of apportionment, only the rate.
When a different rate is lawful — and when it is not
During the developer and JMB periods there is no room for differentiation. Sections 12(3) and 25(3) require charges to be in proportion to allocated share units, which means one uniform rate per share unit applies to every parcel regardless of type. Only after the management corporation exists does s.60(3)(b) allow different rates of charges for parcels used for significantly different purposes — the classic case being residential parcels versus commercial lots in the same development. If your building is still under JMB and you are being charged a different rate per share unit from your neighbour, that is a question worth putting in writing.
Who sets the rate, and who can review it
During the developer's period the developer determines the rate — but a purchaser who is not satisfied can apply to the Commissioner of Buildings, who reviews it and whose decision is final. That route exists precisely because the developer is setting a charge that it also collects. During the JMB period the rate is determined by the joint management body at a general meeting, and during the MC period by the management corporation at a general meeting. So from handover onward, the rate is decided by a vote you are entitled to attend — which is why the AGM is not an optional social event.
Verify this against your own building
Ask management for the latest audited accounts, the current charge rate per share unit and the sinking fund balance before you rely on anything here. Rates and building costs differ; the statutory framework does not.
Buyer checklist
Your charge = your allocated share units × the rate per share unit. Share units come from the First Schedule formula (s.8(1)), so floor area is only one input among several. During the developer and JMB periods the rate per share unit must be uniform for every parcel; only a management corporation may set different rates, and only for parcels used for significantly different purposes (s.60(3)(b)).
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| 1 | Get your allocated share unit figure in writing from management, not your square footage. |
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| 2 | Divide the total charge by total share units to find the rate per share unit, then check your own bill against it. |
| 3 | If the building is still under developer or JMB management, confirm every parcel is on the same rate per share unit. |
| 4 | If a different rate applies to commercial lots, confirm the management corporation exists and that it passed that decision at a general meeting. |
| 5 | If you are still in the developer's management period and the rate looks wrong, apply to the Commissioner of Buildings for a review rather than simply withholding payment. |
Common questions
Is my maintenance charge based on my floor area?
Not directly. Section 8(1) computes allocated share units using the formula in the First Schedule to Act 757, which reflects more than area alone. Your charge is share units multiplied by the rate per share unit.
My neighbour's unit is the same size but pays less. Is that legal?
It depends on the stage your building is at. During the developer and JMB periods, ss.12(3) and 25(3) require a uniform rate per share unit for every parcel. Once a management corporation exists, s.60(3)(b) allows different rates only for parcels used for significantly different purposes. A same-use, same-size difference is worth raising in writing.
Can I challenge the maintenance rate the developer set?
Yes. A purchaser who is not satisfied with the charge determined during the developer's management period may apply to the Commissioner of Buildings, who reviews the rate and whose decision is final.
Who decides the rate after handover?
The joint management body during the JMB period, and the management corporation during the MC period — in both cases by decision at a general meeting, which every owner is entitled to attend and vote at.
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.
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.
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.
Can management cut your water, lock your meter or bar you from the lift over arrears?
Act 757 and the 2015 Regulations give a management body no express power to cut water or electricity to a parcel over arrears. What they do allow is suspension of common facilities and services under by-law 6(5), and deactivation of your access card under by-law 6(4) with a reactivation charge of not more than RM50.
Lewis Conclusion
Know the difference before you argue. Access-card deactivation and facility suspension are lawful and management will use them; a utility cut has no express statutory footing and is worth challenging in writing straight away. Either way, settle the arrears first — every remedy here switches off the moment the account is clear.
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Get your allocated share unit figure in writing from management, not your square footage.
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Divide the total charge by total share units to find the rate per share unit, then check your own bill against it.
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If the building is still under developer or JMB management, confirm every parcel is on the same rate per share unit.
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If a different rate applies to commercial lots, confirm the management corporation exists and that it passed that decision at a general meeting.