Strata & Building Management
Why management quality varies so much between buildings — and what an owner can do about it
Two buildings with the same maintenance charge can have vastly different service quality. Three verifiable drivers: the charge rate itself (set by general meeting at s.25(3) or s.60(3)), the staffing cost (security is funded from the maintenance account and is largely wages — Malaysia's minimum wage is RM1,700/month since February 2025 for employers with 5+ staff), and committee continuity (audited accounts, regular AGMs, and a s.31/s.73 certificate produced on request).
Quick summary
Quick answer
Best for
Risk level
Buyer action
| Best for | Owners assessing whether their building is competently run, and buyers using management quality as a filter. |
|---|---|
| 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 people between you and the building
What follows takes apart fee level, staffing depth and committee continuity explain most of the gap. Two of those three, owners actually control. The manager spends money they do not own, chosen by volunteers, supervised by owners with no time. That is the whole problem.
The charge rate — where the money starts
Two buildings on the same charge rate are not necessarily running the same operation. Section 25(3) for a JMB and s.60(3) for an MC give the body authority to set that rate by resolution at a general meeting, and the sinking fund contribution sits on top of it as a separate account at a minimum of 10% of the charges under ss.25(4) and 61(3). The rate alone tells you nothing about how the money is spent once collected. Two schemes charging identically can put very different shares into security, into repairs and into reserve, and the audited accounts are where that split becomes visible. Ask for the expenditure breakdown, not just the rate.
Staffing costs and the minimum wage floor
Security services are funded from the maintenance account — s.23(3)(b) for a JMB, s.50(3)(b) and s.60(3)(b) for an MC. Security is almost entirely wages. Since February 1, 2025, Malaysia's minimum wage is RM1,700 per month, under the Minimum Wages Order 2024, applying to employers with five or more employees and those in professional services; it applies to all remaining employers from August 1, 2025. A building employing a single security guard at minimum wage costs RM1,700 per month for that one position. A building with two guards, a supervisor and a night shift costs multiples of that. Two buildings on the same charge rate, one paying a single guard at minimum wage and the other funding a supervisor and a night shift, are running fundamentally different operations. The accounts will itemise this.
Accountability — audits, AGMs and the s.31/s.73 certificate
A management body that produces audited accounts annually, lays them before each AGM, holds the AGM punctually, and produces the s.31 or s.73 certificate on request is investing in accountability. The opposite — delayed accounts, cancelled meetings, slow responses to certificate requests — is the signature of complacency. Section 21(1)(g) and 26(1)(b) require the JMB to maintain audited accounts; ss.59(1)(g) and 62(1)(b) plus Second Schedule paragraph 7(10) require the MC to do the same. Section 31 and s.73 require the body to provide the certificate. A building that does all three promptly is fundamentally different from one that drags its feet. In a property transaction, that difference is everything.
What the accounts actually tell you
Request the previous three years of audited accounts with a breakdown by expense category. You will see the actual allocation between staff costs, repairs and maintenance, sinking fund contributions, insurance, utilities, and everything else. Compare the three years: did staffing costs grow, stay flat, or shrink? Did repairs and maintenance get bigger or smaller? Did the sinking fund balance rise or fall? A body that is investing in staffing and carrying a healthy sinking fund is set up differently from one cutting corners on both. The accounts will not lie. What they show, read together with the board's responsiveness to certificate requests and the punctuality of AGMs, is the truest picture of management quality you will have before you commit to owning a unit.
Verify this against your own building
Verify the managing agent's registration and ask for the appointment terms and the last two years of audited accounts. Those three documents answer most questions about competence.
Buyer checklist
Why is Building A clean, responsive and professional, while Building B with nearly identical charges feels neglected? The explanation lies in three factors you can verify in writing. First, the charge rate itself — it is set by general meeting under s.25(3) for a JMB or s.60(3) for an MC. Two buildings may bill the same number but for very different reasons, allocating much more to staffing, much less to reserves, or vice versa. Second, wages: security services are funded from the maintenance account under s.23(3)(b) for a JMB, s.50(3)(b) and s.60(3)(b) for an MC. Since February 1, 2025, Malaysia's minimum wage is RM1,700 per month under the Minimum Wages Order 2024, applying to employers with five or more employees and professional services; it applies to all remaining employers from August 1, 2025. A building that pays at minimum is a different operation from one that pays above it. Third, continuity and accountability: audited accounts laid before each AGM, AGMs held on time, and the s.31 or s.73 certificate produced on request.
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| 1 | Request the last three years of audited accounts with a breakdown by expense category. |
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| 2 | Compare staffing costs across the three years — are they growing, flat, or declining? |
| 3 | Check the sinking fund balance — is it building up or shrinking relative to building age? |
| 4 | Verify the building pays at least the minimum wage for security — RM1,700/month since February 1, 2025 for employers with 5+ staff. |
| 5 | Confirm the body produces the s.31 or s.73 certificate on request and holds AGMs punctually. |
Common questions
Why do two buildings with the same charge feel so different?
The charge rate is set by general meeting under s.25(3) or s.60(3), but it is just the total. What matters is the breakdown: how much goes to staffing, repairs, reserves and insurance. Two buildings on an identical rate can have completely different allocations. Ask for the accounts.
How much should a building spend on security?
Security is funded from the maintenance account under s.23(3)(b) for a JMB and s.50(3)(b) and s.60(3)(b) for an MC. Since February 1, 2025, the minimum wage is RM1,700 per month under the Minimum Wages Order 2024. One guard at minimum is RM1,700 monthly; two guards and a supervisor costs multiples of that.
What is the best signal of management quality before I buy?
Ask for the last three years of accounts, verify the building held AGMs on time, and ask for the s.31 or s.73 certificate. How quickly and completely the body responds is more reliable than any general impression.
Will the accounts show me if money is being spent properly?
Yes. The audited accounts will itemise spending by category. You will see exactly what goes to staff, repairs, reserves, and overhead. Compare three years to see trends. A body that grows staffing investment while building reserves is different from one that cuts both.
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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Request the last three years of audited accounts with a breakdown by expense category.
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Compare staffing costs across the three years — are they growing, flat, or declining?
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Check the sinking fund balance — is it building up or shrinking relative to building age?
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Verify the building pays at least the minimum wage for security — RM1,700/month since February 1, 2025 for employers with 5+ staff.