Strata & Building Management
Share units: who calculates them, who certifies them, and what to do if yours look wrong
Section 18 of the Strata Titles Act 1985 is the provision that matters: every parcel must have share units approved by the Director, expressed in whole numbers. Section 13(1) governs the certified strata plan. The old schedule provision at s.13(2)(c) was deleted by the Strata Titles (Amendment) Act 2013.
Quick summary
Quick answer
Best for
Risk level
Buyer action
| Best for | Buyers of units without individual strata titles, and owners whose title has been outstanding for years. |
|---|---|
| Risk level | 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. |
What you own on paper
What follows takes apart share units set your charge, your vote and your share of the land. An error is worth challenging, and there is a route to do it. Physical delivery and legal title arrive years apart in Malaysia, and everything awkward lives in that gap.
Section 18 is the operative provision
Under s.18 of the Strata Titles Act 1985, every parcel must have share units approved by the Director — the Director of Lands and Mines — and those share units are expressed in whole numbers. That is why share unit figures across a scheme read as a list of integers rather than as percentages or fractions adding to a hundred. Approval by the Director is the step that turns a proposal into the number that governs your charge and your vote.
The certified strata plan
Section 13(1) deals with the certified strata plan. The plan is the survey document that fixes the parcels, and it is prepared and certified through the survey process rather than settled by the management office. If you are trying to establish a share unit figure authoritatively, the plan and the Director's approval under s.18 are the documents to work from.
Two citations you will still see, and why they are wrong
Older material — including a good deal of what circulates online — cites s.10(6)(a) for the whole-number requirement and s.13(2)(c) for a schedule of approved share units in the certified plan. Neither survives. Section 10 has no subsection (6), and s.13(2)(c) was deleted by the Strata Titles (Amendment) Act 2013. That amendment came into operation on 1 June 2015 and reorganised a large part of the Act, which is why a 2006-vintage reprint will lead you to the wrong provision.
What this means when you dispute a figure
Share units set your maintenance charge, your sinking fund contribution and the weight of your vote on a poll. If the figure the management office uses differs from the approved figure, the approved figure governs — so the practical step is to ask, in writing, for the share units as approved by the Director under s.18, and for the source document. If the reply cites a deleted subsection, ask which reprint it is working from before you argue about anything else.
Verify this against your own building
Ask the developer or management in writing for the current status of the strata title application and the date it was filed. Keep the reply; it is the document you will need if you ever have to escalate.
Buyer checklist
Two things to know. Share units must be approved by the Director and expressed in whole numbers — s.18. And the certified strata plan is governed by s.13(1). If you have seen a reference to s.10(6)(a) or to a schedule under s.13(2)(c), those are from the pre-2015 text: s.10 has no subsection (6), and s.13(2)(c) was deleted by Act A1450.
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| 1 | Ask in writing for your share units as approved by the Director under s.18, and for the source document. |
|---|---|
| 2 | Compare that figure against the one the management office uses for your charge. |
| 3 | Treat any citation of s.10(6)(a) or s.13(2)(c) as coming from a superseded reprint. |
| 4 | Remember share units are whole numbers, not percentages. |
| 5 | If the approved figure and the billing figure differ, base the complaint on the approved figure. |
Common questions
Which section governs share units?
Section 18 of the Strata Titles Act 1985: every parcel must have share units approved by the Director, expressed in whole numbers.
Are share units a percentage?
No. They are expressed in whole numbers, which is why a scheme's share units read as a list of integers.
I have seen s.10(6)(a) cited. Is that right?
No. Section 10 has no subsection (6). That citation comes from material predating the Strata Titles (Amendment) Act 2013.
What about the schedule of share units under s.13(2)(c)?
Section 13(2)(c) was deleted by the Strata Titles (Amendment) Act 2013. Section 13(1) governs the certified strata plan.
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.
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.
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.
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Ask in writing for your share units as approved by the Director under s.18, and for the source document.
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Compare that figure against the one the management office uses for your charge.
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Treat any citation of s.10(6)(a) or s.13(2)(c) as coming from a superseded reprint.
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Remember share units are whole numbers, not percentages.