Strata & Building Management
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.
Quick summary
Quick answer
Best for
Risk level
Buyer action
| Best for | Buyers checking what parking they are actually getting, and owners in a dispute over a bay. |
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| 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. |
Bays, rights and who controls them
What follows takes apart dealing with common property needs the right resolution at the right meeting — not a committee decision over WhatsApp. Bays per unit is a fixed number set years before your household bought its second car.
The power to deal with common property commercially
A joint management body may lease or rent property under s.23(2)(c). A management corporation has the equivalent power to lease or hire under s.50(2)(c), read with s.60(2). Those provisions are what allow a scheme to rent out surplus common-property bays rather than leaving them idle, and to bring the income into the maintenance account. So the answer to whether management can charge for a common bay is yes in principle — the interesting question is always what authority was used.
Parking rules are additional by-laws, and they need a special resolution
Regulating parking — reserving bays, allocating them, imposing conditions — is done through additional by-laws. For a joint management body the power sits in s.32(3), and for a management corporation in s.70(2). Crucially, making, amending or repealing additional by-laws requires a special resolution passed at a general meeting: ss.21(2)(g) and 32(3) for a JMB, ss.59(2)(g) and 70(2) for an MC. A special resolution is a higher bar than the ordinary majority that sets the charge rate, and it is the bar most informal parking rules never clear.
How to check a parking rule is real
Ask for the additional by-law itself, and for the minutes of the general meeting at which the special resolution was passed. Two documents, and they either exist or they do not. If the rule was introduced by circular, notice board or committee resolution alone, it has not been made in the way ss.32(3) and 70(2) require, and that is the point to raise — in writing, before you argue about whether the rule itself is fair.
Verify this against your own building
Get the strata plan and your SPA schedule and confirm in writing which bays are accessory parcels tied to your unit. Do this before you pay, not when you try to sell.
Buyer checklist
Yes, it can — with the right authority. The leasing power sits in s.23(2)(c) for a joint management body and s.50(2)(c) read with s.60(2) for a management corporation. The power to regulate parking by additional by-law sits in s.32(3) and s.70(2). Making those additional by-laws requires a special resolution passed at a general meeting, under ss.21(2)(g) and 32(3) for a JMB and ss.59(2)(g) and 70(2) for an MC.
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| 1 | Ask which power the management is relying on — s.23(2)(c) for a JMB, s.50(2)(c) with s.60(2) for an MC. |
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| 2 | For any parking rule, ask for the additional by-law and the minutes of the general meeting that passed it. |
| 3 | Check that a special resolution was passed, not an ordinary one — ss.21(2)(g), 32(3) for a JMB; ss.59(2)(g), 70(2) for an MC. |
| 4 | Confirm rental income from common-property bays is going into the maintenance account. |
| 5 | If the rule came only from a circular or notice board, raise the procedural point in writing first. |
Common questions
Can management rent out common-property car park bays?
Yes. A joint management body may lease or rent property under s.23(2)(c), and a management corporation under s.50(2)(c) read with s.60(2).
What approval is needed for parking rules?
Parking is regulated by additional by-laws under s.32(3) for a JMB and s.70(2) for an MC, and making them requires a special resolution at a general meeting — ss.21(2)(g) and 32(3), or ss.59(2)(g) and 70(2).
The committee announced a new parking rule by circular. Is that enough?
Not for an additional by-law. The Act requires a special resolution passed at a general meeting, so ask for the by-law and the minutes of the meeting that passed it.
Where does the rental income go?
Into the scheme's funds — ask the management to point to the income line in the maintenance account.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lewis Conclusion
Insure your own contents and do not treat the guardhouse as cover. The Act gives a scheme the power to provide security and the money to pay for it, but it does not turn a security failure into an automatic claim against the building.
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Ask which power the management is relying on — s.23(2)(c) for a JMB, s.50(2)(c) with s.60(2) for an MC.
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For any parking rule, ask for the additional by-law and the minutes of the general meeting that passed it.
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Check that a special resolution was passed, not an ordinary one — ss.21(2)(g), 32(3) for a JMB; ss.59(2)(g), 70(2) for an MC.
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Confirm rental income from common-property bays is going into the maintenance account.