Strata & Building Management
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).
Quick summary
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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. |
Before you file anything
This post works through ownership disputes are outside its jurisdiction. Filing the wrong claim there wastes months. Low-value disputes between people who must keep living together cannot be economically litigated in court. That is why the tribunal exists.
The monetary limit
Section 105(1) gives the tribunal jurisdiction to hear and determine claims where the total amount in respect of which an award is sought does not exceed two hundred and fifty thousand ringgit, or such other prescribed amount substituted for it. That figure covers the overwhelming majority of strata disputes — arrears, repair costs, defect rectification, insurance shortfalls — which is exactly what the forum was designed for.
What you can actually ask for
Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule sets out the heads of claim, and the range is wider than most owners realise. You can bring a dispute about the exercise, performance or failure to perform any function, duty or power under Act 757 or its subsidiary legislation. You can bring a dispute about costs or repairs for a defect in a parcel, building, land, common property or limited common property. You can claim recovery of charges, sinking fund contributions or any amount declared a debt under the Act. You can seek an order to convene a general meeting, an order invalidating meeting proceedings that contravened the Act, an order nullifying a resolution where voting rights were denied or due notice of business was not given, or nullifying a resolution passed at a general meeting outright.
And the less obvious heads
Four more are worth knowing because owners rarely think of the tribunal for them. You can seek revocation of an amendment to the by-laws, having regard to the interests of all proprietors. You can ask the tribunal to vary the rate of interest fixed by a management body for late payment of charges or sinking fund contributions. You can ask it to vary the amount of insurance to be provided, or to pursue an insurance claim. And you can compel a developer, joint management body, management corporation or subsidiary management corporation to supply information or documents — which is the head to pair with any dispute where records are being withheld. Consent to alterations to common property, and affirming, varying or revoking a decision of the Commissioner of Buildings, round out the list.
Where the door closes
Section 105(3) is the boundary. The tribunal's jurisdiction does not extend to any claim in which the title to any land, or any estate or interest in land, or any franchise, is in question. So a dispute about who owns a parcel, whether an accessory parcel was properly appurtenant, or a contested transfer, is not a tribunal matter no matter how small the sum involved. Those go to the courts. Read your intended claim against s.105(3) before you file, because a jurisdictional problem is not something evidence can fix.
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
RM250,000 is the ceiling under s.105(1). The Fourth Schedule Part 1 list is wide — performance of duties, repair costs and defects, recovery of charges, orders to convene meetings, orders invalidating meeting proceedings or nullifying resolutions, revoking by-law amendments, varying the late-payment interest rate, insurance amounts and claims, compelling supply of documents, consent to alter common property, and affirming or revoking a decision of the Commissioner. Section 105(3) carves out anything where title to land is in question.
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| 1 | Confirm the award you are seeking does not exceed RM250,000 (s.105(1)). |
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| 2 | Identify the specific item in Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule your claim falls under. |
| 3 | Check s.105(3): if title to land or an interest in land is in question, the tribunal has no jurisdiction. |
| 4 | If records are being withheld, add the head of claim compelling supply of information or documents. |
| 5 | If the dispute is about a Commissioner's decision, note the tribunal can affirm, vary or revoke it. |
Common questions
What is the tribunal's monetary limit?
RM250,000, or such other prescribed amount substituted for it — s.105(1) of Act 757.
Can I bring an ownership dispute to the tribunal?
No. Section 105(3) excludes any claim in which the title to land, or any estate or interest in land, or any franchise, is in question.
Can the tribunal order management to give me documents?
Yes. Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule includes a claim to compel a developer, JMB, MC or subsidiary MC to supply information or documents.
Can the tribunal cancel a resolution passed at an AGM?
Yes. The Fourth Schedule includes orders to invalidate meeting proceedings that contravened the Act and to nullify resolutions, including where voting rights were denied or due notice of business was not given.
Can it change the interest my building charges on arrears?
Yes — varying the rate of interest fixed by a JMB, MC or subsidiary MC for late payment is one of the listed heads of claim.
Lewis Chong
REN 69566 · IQI GlobalProperty advisor helping KL, JB, and Penang buyers make data-backed property decisions.
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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)).
Lewis Conclusion
Prepare as if you will present the case yourself, because in almost every strata dispute you will. Bring the documents in date order, keep the claim inside one head of the Fourth Schedule, and let the sixty-day rule work for you rather than treating the tribunal like a court.
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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Confirm the award you are seeking does not exceed RM250,000 (s.105(1)).
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Identify the specific item in Part 1 of the Fourth Schedule your claim falls under.
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Check s.105(3): if title to land or an interest in land is in question, the tribunal has no jurisdiction.
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If records are being withheld, add the head of claim compelling supply of information or documents.