Strata & Building Management
Break-in, theft or car stolen from the car park: is management liable?
Act 757 and the Third Schedule by-laws contain no general express provision making a management body liable for theft or loss of a resident's property. Where the by-laws do address liability, they exempt the management corporation — for damage during towing or clamping, removing animals, and disposing of unclaimed obstructions.
Quick summary
Quick answer
Best for
Risk level
Buyer action
| Best for | Buyers comparing a strata scheme against a guarded landed neighbourhood, and residents in a security-fee dispute. |
|---|---|
| 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 is liable when it fails
What follows takes apart the notice board disclaimer is not the whole answer. The question is what duty was owed and whether it was breached. The word 'gated and guarded' is used for two arrangements with completely different legal footing.
What the Act does provide
It provides funding and rule-making power, not a guarantee. A joint management body may apply the maintenance account towards security services under s.23(3)(b); a management corporation does the same under ss.50(3)(b) and 60(3)(b). Separately, ss.32(3)(a) and 70(2)(a) list safety and security among the subjects an additional by-law may cover, which is how schemes create visitor registration, access control and guard procedures with binding force.
Identification and removal powers
By-law 17(1) of the Third Schedule allows the management corporation to require any person on the common property to identify themselves for security purposes. By-law 17(2) allows it to order a person who is not a proprietor, and who refuses, to leave immediately. Those are real powers, and they are the practical backbone of access control. By-law 6(4) adds the defaulter provisions — deactivating an access card and requiring a defaulter to sign a register to enter or leave.
Where liability actually sits
This is the part owners assume wrongly. There is no general express provision in Act 757 or the by-laws making the management body liable for theft or loss of residents' property. What the by-laws do contain are exemptions running the other way: the management corporation is not liable for damage or loss caused during towing or wheel-clamping a vehicle under by-laws 25(1)(b) and 25(2)(b), during the removal of an unauthorised animal under by-law 14(2)(b), or in disposing of unclaimed items obstructing the common property under by-law 20(2).
What that means when something is stolen
It means the notice-board disclaimer is not the whole story, but neither is the assumption that paying for security buys a guarantee. Any claim would have to be built on an ordinary duty of care and a demonstrable failure — guards absent, a gate left open, CCTV not functioning despite a resolution to maintain it — rather than on a statutory promise that does not exist. So document the failure, put it in writing to the management body, and keep your own contents insurance current, because the insurance is the part you actually control.
Verify this against your own building
Ask what the security line costs per unit per month and how it has moved over three years. If the scheme is on public roads, ask what happens when a household stops paying — the answer tells you how stable the arrangement is.
Buyer checklist
There is no statutory guarantee. The Act funds security — a joint management body may pay for it from the maintenance account under s.23(3)(b), a management corporation under ss.50(3)(b) and 60(3)(b) — and ss.32(3)(a) and 70(2)(a) let a scheme make additional by-laws for safety and security. But no provision makes the body an insurer of your belongings. The express liability provisions in the by-laws run the other way, exempting the management corporation in three specific situations.
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| 1 | Do not assume the maintenance charge buys a guarantee — no provision makes the body liable for theft or loss of your property. |
|---|---|
| 2 | Keep your own contents insurance current and check what it covers in a strata unit. |
| 3 | If a security failure occurs, document it and put it to the management body in writing the same week. |
| 4 | Ask what the scheme's additional by-laws under s.32(3)(a) or s.70(2)(a) actually require of the guards. |
| 5 | Note the by-law exemptions in 25(1)(b), 25(2)(b), 14(2)(b) and 20(2) before assuming the body is liable for damage it caused. |
Common questions
Is management liable if my unit is broken into?
There is no general express provision in Act 757 or the Third Schedule by-laws making a management body liable for theft or loss of a resident's property.
Where does the money for security come from?
The maintenance account — s.23(3)(b) for a joint management body, ss.50(3)(b) and 60(3)(b) for a management corporation.
Can the guards demand identification from anyone?
By-law 17(1) allows the management corporation to require any person on the common property to identify themselves for security purposes, and by-law 17(2) allows it to order a non-proprietor who refuses to leave immediately.
Is the management liable if my car is damaged while being clamped?
By-laws 25(1)(b) and 25(2)(b) exempt the management corporation from liability for damage or loss caused during towing or wheel-clamping.
Lewis Chong
REN 69566 · IQI GlobalProperty advisor helping KL, JB, and Penang buyers make data-backed property decisions.
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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.
Can management rent out, reserve or charge for common-property parking?
A management body can rent out or allocate common-property bays — a JMB under s.23(2)(c), an MC under s.50(2)(c) read with s.60(2) — and can regulate parking through additional by-laws under s.32(3) or s.70(2). But those additional by-laws need a special resolution at a general meeting, not a committee decision.
Lewis Conclusion
Ask one question when a new parking rule appears on the notice board: which special resolution, passed at which general meeting, authorised it? If nobody can answer that, what you are looking at is a committee preference wearing the clothes of a by-law.
When management is legally liable
Committee members face personal liability under s.26(5) for a JMB and s.62(5) for an MC if they fail to maintain, audit, or permit inspection of accounts — fines up to RM250,000 and imprisonment up to three years. The management body must keep common property in repair under s.21(1)(a) and s.59(1)(a). By-laws exempt the MC from liability for vehicle towing, removal of unauthorised animals, and disposal of unclaimed items, but there is no general provision making the body liable for theft or loss. Claims go to the tribunal under ss.102 and 105(1).
Lewis Conclusion
If the committee has failed on accounts, the personal exposure is real and expensive — cite s.26(5) or s.62(5). If you are suing over theft or vehicle damage, ask a lawyer whether the by-law exemptions in the Third Schedule will apply — the body does not have blanket liability for loss, but the contract between you and the body may impose one.
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Do not assume the maintenance charge buys a guarantee — no provision makes the body liable for theft or loss of your property.
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Keep your own contents insurance current and check what it covers in a strata unit.
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If a security failure occurs, document it and put it to the management body in writing the same week.
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Ask what the scheme's additional by-laws under s.32(3)(a) or s.70(2)(a) actually require of the guards.