Strata & Building Management
Can your building ban Airbnb? Additional by-laws, local rules and what actually binds you
Section 70(5)(a) of Act 757 states that no additional by-law shall be capable of operating to prohibit or restrict the transfer, lease or charge of, or any other dealing with, any parcel. That is the provision anyone facing a blanket short-term rental ban should read first.
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Quick answer
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Buyer action
| Best for | Residents in a neighbour dispute, and buyers weighing high-rise living against landed on quality-of-life grounds. |
|---|---|
| Risk level | Low-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. |
Before you knock on the door
The question here is this matters before you buy an investment unit — a by-law passed after you bought can end your rental model. Escalation order matters: the same complaint succeeds or dies depending on where you take it first.
The Act does not mention short-term rental
Neither Act 757 nor the Strata Management (Maintenance and Management) Regulations 2015 uses the phrase. That absence is itself informative: it means any scheme-level restriction has to be built out of the general by-law powers rather than out of a provision written for the purpose. So the analysis is not what the Act says about Airbnb — it is whether a particular by-law falls inside the scope the Act allows, and whether it collides with an express prohibition.
Section 70(5)(a) is the express limit
The provision reads that no additional by-law shall be capable of operating to prohibit or restrict the transfer, lease or charge of, or any other dealing with, any parcel of a subdivided building or land. A lease is a dealing with a parcel. So a by-law whose effect is to stop an owner letting their unit is operating in the territory s.70(5)(a) puts out of reach. That is a strong argument, and it is the first one to make in writing if a general meeting passes a blanket ban.
What a scheme can still legitimately do
Do not mistake s.70(5)(a) for a licence. Sections 32(3) and 70(2) give a scheme wide power over safety and security, restricted common property, behaviour, refuse control, parking and access — and those powers can be exercised in ways that make high-turnover letting genuinely difficult without prohibiting letting at all. Access-card issuance rules, visitor registration, restrictions on the use of facilities by non-residents, and fines for behaviour breaches are all within scope. A serious investor should read the scheme's additional by-laws for those, not just for the word rental.
Verify this against your own building
Get a copy of your scheme's additional by-laws and the resolution that passed them. A rule that cannot be traced to a properly passed resolution is a request, not an obligation.
Buyer checklist
Act 757 and the 2015 Regulations do not use the term short-term rental at all. What they do contain is s.70(5)(a): no additional by-law shall be capable of operating to prohibit or restrict the transfer, lease or charge of, or any other dealing with, any parcel of a subdivided building or land. A by-law that bans letting outright runs directly into that limit, even though a scheme retains wide power to regulate behaviour, security and access.
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| 1 | Read s.70(5)(a) before accepting any blanket ban on letting your parcel. |
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| 2 | Ask for the additional by-law text and the special resolution that passed it. |
| 3 | Read the security, access, visitor and behaviour by-laws too — those are where practical restrictions live. |
| 4 | Check the local authority and any licensing position separately from the scheme's by-laws. |
| 5 | If your investment case depends on short-term letting, verify the rules before you commit, not after. |
Common questions
Does Act 757 mention short-term rental?
No. Neither Act 757 nor the 2015 Regulations uses the term, so any scheme restriction has to be built out of the general additional by-law powers.
Can our building ban me from renting out my unit?
Section 70(5)(a) provides that no additional by-law shall be capable of operating to prohibit or restrict the transfer, lease or charge of, or any other dealing with, any parcel.
So the scheme can do nothing about high-turnover letting?
Not so. Sections 32(3) and 70(2) allow by-laws on safety and security, restricted common property, behaviour, refuse, parking and access, which can constrain how a unit is used without prohibiting letting.
What should I check before buying for short-term letting?
The additional by-laws in full — including security, access, visitor and behaviour provisions — plus the local authority and licensing position, verified in writing before you commit.
Lewis Chong
REN 69566 · IQI GlobalProperty advisor helping KL, JB, and Penang buyers make data-backed property decisions.
Related reading
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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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Read s.70(5)(a) before accepting any blanket ban on letting your parcel.
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Ask for the additional by-law text and the special resolution that passed it.
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Read the security, access, visitor and behaviour by-laws too — those are where practical restrictions live.
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Check the local authority and any licensing position separately from the scheme's by-laws.