Strata & Building Management
How to file at the Strata Management Tribunal
The Limitation Act 1953 does not apply to tribunal proceedings (s.105(2)), lawyers are barred unless two conditions are both satisfied (s.110(2)), and the tribunal must make its award without delay and where practicable within 60 days of the hearing starting (s.117(1)).
Quick summary
Quick answer
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Buyer action
| Best for | Owners deciding whether, where and when to bring a strata claim. |
|---|---|
| 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. |
The forum that fits
This post works through it is deliberately cheap and lawyer-free by default — s.110(2) blocks representation unless two conditions are both met. Filing in the wrong forum costs months, and the time bar keeps running while you wait.
No limitation period under the Limitation Act
Section 105(2) provides that the Limitation Act 1953 shall not apply to proceedings before the tribunal. That is unusual and worth understanding correctly: it means there is no standard statutory limitation period under that Act cutting off a strata claim. It does not mean delay is costless — evidence goes stale, witnesses move out, and a tribunal weighing a dispute about a decision taken eight years ago will notice the gap. But the objection you might expect in court, that the claim is time-barred under the Limitation Act, is not available here.
Why you probably cannot bring a lawyer
Section 110(2) is the provision that most surprises first-time claimants. Parties are not allowed to be represented by an advocate and solicitor at the hearing unless two things are both true: in the tribunal's opinion the matter involves complex issues of law, and one party will suffer severe financial hardship if not represented. Both limbs, not either. Section 110(3) then adds a fairness rule: if one party is permitted legal representation, the other party is automatically entitled to be represented as well. The design intent is a forum where an ordinary owner is not outgunned, and it works — but only if you prepare your own case properly.
Sixty days, and what that means for your preparation
Section 117(1) requires the tribunal to make its award without delay and, where practicable, within sixty days from the first day the hearing commences. That is fast by any standard, and it shapes how you should prepare. Bring a bundle in date order — notices served, replies received, photographs with dates, accounts, minutes. State the head of claim from Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule you are relying on. Say what order you want in one sentence. A tribunal working to sixty days rewards a claimant who has made the issue easy to see.
Verify this against your own building
Check the current jurisdiction limit and filing procedure on KPKT's tribunal page before you file, and diarise the limitation date the day the dispute starts. Filing late is the most common way a good claim dies.
Buyer checklist
Three features define this forum. First, s.105(2) disapplies the Limitation Act 1953 — there is no standard statutory limitation period cutting your claim off. Second, s.110(2) bars an advocate and solicitor unless the tribunal considers the matter involves complex issues of law and one party would suffer severe financial hardship without representation; if one side gets a lawyer, s.110(3) automatically entitles the other to one too. Third, s.117(1) requires the award without delay and, where practicable, within 60 days from the first day of hearing.
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| 1 | Identify the head of claim in Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule and state it on the form. |
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| 2 | Assemble a bundle in date order: notices, replies, dated photographs, accounts, minutes. |
| 3 | Do not assume you can bring a lawyer — s.110(2) requires complex issues of law and severe financial hardship, both. |
| 4 | If the other side is permitted representation, note s.110(3) entitles you to it as well. |
| 5 | Expect the award without delay and, where practicable, within 60 days of the hearing starting (s.117(1)). |
Common questions
Is there a time limit to file at the Strata Management Tribunal?
Section 105(2) provides that the Limitation Act 1953 does not apply to tribunal proceedings, so there is no standard statutory limitation period under that Act. Delay still weakens evidence.
Can I bring a lawyer to the hearing?
Usually not. Under s.110(2), representation by an advocate and solicitor is only allowed where the tribunal considers the matter involves complex issues of law and one party would suffer severe financial hardship without representation.
If the management brings a lawyer, can I?
Yes. Section 110(3) provides that if one party is permitted legal representation, the other party is also entitled to be represented.
How long until I get a decision?
Section 117(1) requires the tribunal to make its award without delay and, where practicable, within sixty days from the first day the hearing commences.
Lewis Chong
REN 69566 · IQI GlobalProperty advisor helping KL, JB, and Penang buyers make data-backed property decisions.
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The Strata Management Tribunal
The Strata Management Tribunal hears claims where the award sought does not exceed RM250,000 (s.105(1)), across fourteen categories in Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule. What it cannot touch is any claim in which title to land, or an estate or interest in land, is in question — s.105(3).
Lewis Conclusion
Match your complaint to a specific item in Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule before you file. Claims fail at this tribunal far more often for being the wrong kind of claim than for being weak on the facts.
You won at the tribunal and they still won't comply — what happens next
Ignoring a Strata Management Tribunal award is a criminal offence under s.123: a fine not exceeding RM250,000, imprisonment not exceeding three years, or both — plus a further fine of up to RM5,000 for every day the offence continues after conviction.
Lewis Conclusion
The daily fine is the part that actually moves people. A management body weighing whether to comply with an award is not choosing between paying now and paying later — it is choosing between complying and accumulating a criminal penalty every day it does not.
Strata Management Tribunal vs Homebuyer Claims Tribunal
Two tribunals, two Acts, two limits. The Strata Management Tribunal takes disputes with your management body up to RM250,000 under s.105(1) of Act 757. The Homebuyer Claims Tribunal takes claims against a licensed developer arising from the SPA up to RM50,000 under s.16M(1) of the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966, with a 12-month time bar in s.16N(2).
Lewis Conclusion
The 12-month window at the homebuyer tribunal is the one that ends claims. It runs from the CCC, the expiry of the defect liability period, or termination of the SPA — so a defect you have been politely chasing the developer about for eighteen months may already be out of time there, even though the strata tribunal has no equivalent bar.
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Identify the head of claim in Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule and state it on the form.
Send
Assemble a bundle in date order: notices, replies, dated photographs, accounts, minutes.
Send
Do not assume you can bring a lawyer — s.110(2) requires complex issues of law and severe financial hardship, both.
Send
If the other side is permitted representation, note s.110(3) entitles you to it as well.