If I were to name just one industry change imperative for Malaysia’s property landscape, it would be this: an urgent and comprehensive review of the Strata Management Act 2013 (SMA 2013).
Strata living in Malaysia has skyrocketed, evolving rapidly into the dominant housing model in our urban centres. With that growth comes a new and complex set of property management challenges — governance, cost allocation, mixed-use tensions and dispute resolution. Our law, unfortunately, has not evolved at the same pace.
As a result, SMA 2013 is under strain — it lacks clarity. More importantly, it requires structural reform, a shift from a largely compliance-based framework to one centred on effective governance for a fast-changing real estate landscape.
This urgency is compounded by the government’s push for affordable housing, which is almost entirely stratified for cost reasons. More strata schemes mean more management bodies, more potential disputes and greater reliance on a law that is increasingly showing its weaknesses.
Law falling behind a fast-changing lifestyle
What is sorely missing from SMA 2013 are clear, prescribed responses to practical, real-world issues arising from modern strata living — a lifestyle that is no longer optional but firmly here to stay.
The problem is worsened by the increasing creativity of developers in design, layout and space utilisation. While innovation is welcome, the governance and maintenance implications of such creativity are often not adequately captured by existing laws, leaving owners, joint management bodies (JMBs) and management corporations (MCs) to navigate legal grey areas.
Calls for an overhaul of SMA 2013 are not new. As early as 2019, the government acknowledged the need for a revamp. A focus committee was formed, working papers prepared — yet, six years on, the industry is still waiting. The amendments have yet to see the light of day.
Those working and discussion papers would have crossed the desks of at least two former housing and local government ministers — Zuraida Kamaruddin and Reezal Merican Naina Merican — before landing on that of the current minister, Nga Kor Ming.
In late 2024, Nga reportedly told parliament that the proposed amendments would include:
• A review of the roles and empowerment of JMBs and MCs;
• Addressing overlapping provisions between SMA 2013 and other laws; and
• Clarifying the roles and enforcement powers of the Commissioner of Buildings (COB).
All necessary. All overdue. The question remains: How much longer?
Why SMA 2013 matters and why it is not enough
By way of background, SMA 2013 technically replaced the Building and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act 2007 (Act 663). It was enacted in 2013, but only came into force in June 2015. SMA 2013’s scope is broad. It regulates, among others:
• Management of stratified buildings before and after strata titles are issued;
• Powers and duties of JMBs, MCs and subsidiary MCs;
• Collection of maintenance charges and sinking funds;
• Conducting of annual and extraordinary general meetings (AGMs/EGMs), voting, by-laws and enforcement;
• Dispute resolution via the Strata Management Tribunal; and
• Oversight by the COB.
In short, SMA 2013 was intended to unify and professionalise strata management, replacing a fragmented legal regime. It introduced improvements such as allowing action to be taken against both landlords and tenants, and streamlining the issuance of strata titles.
Yet, even when it came into force in 2015, industry practitioners could already identify glaring gaps. The Act was behind the curve, struggling to cope with increasingly complex strata schemes and popular mixed-use developments.
Complicating matters further, SMA 2013 does not operate in isolation. It is deeply intertwined with laws governing planning approvals, building regulations, sales, construction, subdivision and strata titling. Overlapping provisions and enforcement misalignment are likely key reasons why amendments have stalled, but that cannot excuse prolonged inaction.
The onus lies squarely with the Ministry of Housing and Local Government to carry the process through.
The cost of delay: Conflicting decisions, growing disputes
An under-equipped SMA 2013 has real consequences. As strata schemes proliferate, management knowledge has not kept pace, resulting in disputes, disharmony and more cases landing in court to fill gaps that should have been resolved legislatively.
In November last year, the Federal Court unanimously dismissed an application by the MC of Phileo Damansara 1 to impose different maintenance rates, affirming earlier High Court and Court of Appeal rulings. Yet just last month, the High Court ruled that a JMB may impose different maintenance charges in a mixed-use development such as Icon City in Petaling Jaya, based on exclusive use of certain identified common property.
What the SMA 2013 review must deliver
To be meaningful, the review of SMA 2013 must be comprehensive and industry-informed. At a minimum, it must:
• Clarify and modernise definitions, particularly for mixed-use developments;
• Identify and create limited common property prior to the incorporation of the MC or earlier — before the project is sold, just as in the case of share unit allocation;
• Review share unit allocation formulas and weightage systems that directly affect maintenance charges and sinking funds;
• Legitimise and regulate online and hybrid AGMs/EGMs, with proper safeguards;
• Reduce disputes by providing clear resolution pathways when by-laws are contested;
• Enhance the jurisdiction and effectiveness of the Strata Management Tribunal; and
• Clearly define maintenance responsibilities and usage rights for shared and limited common property.
Fix it — and fast
Malaysia’s Strata Management Act 2013 needs fixing and fast. The law lags the market, placing immense strain on owners, managers and the courts alike.
The question now is whether Nga will be the minister who finally sees the amendments through.
For the millions of Malaysians living in strata-titled properties, the answer cannot come soon enough. That’s the Real Deal!
Source: The Edge Malaysia (21 January 2026)