BUYERS of existing apartments and condominiums need to make sure the owners who are selling have settled outstanding payments owed to the Joint Management Body (JMB) of the building or risk being saddled with the debt as of Jan 1 next year.

This could pose a major problem to house buyers when changes are made to the Strata Titles (Amendment) Act 2016, which will come into force then.

Tanjong MP Ng Wei Aik said with the new law, owners of apartments and condominiums could sell their properties even if they owed money to the JMB.

“At present, the JMB’s consent is needed before a unit can change hands and all outstanding payments must first be completed.

“The new law will free owners of this requirement, but buyers should take the initiative to ensure the JMB debts are settled before signing the sale and purchase agreements.

“Otherwise, the debts will fall on them,” he said yesterday in a press conference to highlight the implications of the new act to Penangites.

He said the parcel or individual quit rent of each unit would be calculated based on the size of each unit, which included the size of car parking lots allotted to the units.

“Owners who fail to pay the parcel rent will risk having their properties seized by state authorities,” he warned.

Under the current law, the quit rent of the whole apartment building is paid to the state by the JMB, which is charged with collecting the portions payable by individual units.

Ng said the new Act would affect thousands of high-rise unit owners in Penang, which has the highest number of high-rise buildings next to Selangor.

He urged property owners to become familiar with the Act.

Follow us on Wechat or Facebook for the latest updates.

Download StarProperty.my e-Mag(bit.ly/StarProperty_Emag) for more articles.

Want to contribute articles to StarProperty.my? Email editor@starproperty.my.

[slider id='81590' name='StarProperty' size='full']