Strata & Building Management
Quit rent and assessment arrears
Part IVA of the Strata Titles Act 1985 apportions quit rent to individual parcels. Section 23B makes the rent for each parcel a debt due directly to the State Authority, and s.23C has the Land Administrator compute it on a rate per square metre and endorse it on the strata title — replacing the old practice of collecting it through the management body.
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| Best for | Owners questioning what they pay, and buyers modelling the holding cost of a high-rise before they commit. |
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| 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. |
Money first, opinions later
Start here if you need these are separate from maintenance charges, enforced by different bodies, and the ultimate remedy is forfeiture of the land. The Act separates two funds for a reason, and knowing which one pays for what settles most disputes.
Part IVA changed who owes the rent
This is one of the more consequential changes most owners never hear about. Part IVA of the Strata Titles Act 1985 apportions quit rent to individual parcels. Section 23B provides that the rent payable for each parcel, or each provisional block, is a debt due to the State Authority — which is what makes individual collection possible. That replaces the older practice under which the lot rent was billed to the proprietor of the lot or to the management body and recovered from owners inside the maintenance charge.
How the figure is worked out
Section 23C governs the determination and computation of the rent by the Land Administrator and its endorsement on the strata title. Under s.23C(8) and (9), the computation runs on a rate per square metre applied to each parcel, or to a parcel together with its accessory parcel, or to a provisional block. Where there are arrears of rent outstanding on the parent lot, those may be brought into the computation and allocated in proportion to share units and provisional share units. And where the result includes a fraction of a ringgit, it is rounded up to the nearest ringgit.
Why the arrears rule matters at handover
The allocation of parent-lot arrears in proportion to share units is the provision to look at in a scheme where titles have only recently issued. Rent that went unpaid while the land was still a single lot does not simply disappear when the lot is subdivided; s.23C(9) allows it to be carried into the individual computation and spread across the parcels by share units. A buyer taking a unit in a scheme that has just received titles should ask specifically whether any parent-lot arrears were brought in.
What to check on your own parcel
Three things. Whether your strata title has been issued and the rent endorsed on it under s.23C. Whether you are receiving a bill in your own name, and if not, where the bill is going. And whether the scheme is still recovering something described as quit rent inside the maintenance charge, which would be worth reconciling against your individual assessment. Being billed twice for the same liability is unusual, but so is a strata owner who has never seen a quit rent bill at all.
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
Quit rent on a strata parcel is now individual, not collective. Section 23B makes the rent payable for each parcel or provisional block a debt due directly to the State Authority. Section 23C has the Land Administrator determine and compute it and endorse it on the strata title. Under s.23C(8) and (9) it is computed on a rate per square metre for the parcel, or the parcel with its accessory parcel; arrears of rent on the parent lot may be brought in and allocated in proportion to share units and provisional share units; and a fraction of a ringgit is rounded up.
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| 1 | Confirm whether your strata title has issued and the rent has been endorsed on it under s.23C. |
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| 2 | Check whether you receive a quit rent bill in your own name; if not, find out where it is going. |
| 3 | Ask whether any parent-lot arrears were brought into the computation and allocated by share units under s.23C(9). |
| 4 | Reconcile any 'quit rent' line still appearing in your maintenance charge against your individual assessment. |
| 5 | Remember the rent for your parcel is a debt due directly to the State Authority under s.23B, whether or not a bill reaches you. |
Common questions
Is quit rent on a strata parcel billed to me or to the management?
Under Part IVA of the Strata Titles Act 1985 it is apportioned to individual parcels. Section 23B makes the rent for each parcel a debt due to the State Authority, which allows individual collection.
How is my parcel's rent calculated?
Section 23C has the Land Administrator determine and compute it. Under s.23C(8) and (9) it runs on a rate per square metre for the parcel, or the parcel with its accessory parcel, or a provisional block.
What happens to unpaid rent on the original lot?
Arrears on the parent lot may be brought into the computation and allocated in proportion to share units and provisional share units under s.23C(9).
I have never received a quit rent bill for my condo. Should I worry?
It is worth checking. Under s.23B the rent for your parcel is a debt due directly to the State Authority, so not receiving a bill does not remove the liability. Confirm whether your title has issued and the rent endorsed under s.23C.
Lewis Chong
REN 69566 · IQI GlobalProperty advisor helping KL, JB, and Penang buyers make data-backed property decisions.
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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.
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Confirm whether your strata title has issued and the rent has been endorsed on it under s.23C.
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Check whether you receive a quit rent bill in your own name; if not, find out where it is going.
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Ask whether any parent-lot arrears were brought into the computation and allocated by share units under s.23C(9).
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Reconcile any 'quit rent' line still appearing in your maintenance charge against your individual assessment.