Mandarin Gardens' management panel steps down over enbloc disputes

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr funny

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...345192/1/.html

Mandarin Gardens' management panel steps down over enbloc disputes

By Timothy Ouyang, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 02 May 2008 2033 hrs

SINGAPORE : Enbloc sales woes and unhappiness at Mandarin Gardens have left the condominium without a management committee for the past week.

The previous committee refused to be re-nominated for elections at its Annual General Meeting last Sunday.

Since then, no one is taking charge of the day-to-day management at the condominium on Siglap Road.

Channel NewsAsia understands that the entire management committee stepped down because of disputes with the estate's enbloc sales committee.

Apparently, the enbloc sales committee pushed through resolutions which are unfavourable to the entire estate, through its control of proxy votes.

When contacted, the Strata Titles Board said such cases are rare, but it is unable to do anything at this point.

Under the law, all residents are jointly responsible for any liabilities incurred by the condominium during this period. - CNA/ms

Whether or not there is a management council, all subsidiary proprietors (not residents since residents include tenants and their maids) are jointly responsible for all liabilities under the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act, 2004 (the BMSMA).

The functions of the Council are completely different from those of the Sale Committee and the estate should not be made to suffer by having no management council to deal with the day to day maintenance issues.

A more productive way to deal with the dissatisfaction is simply to garner more minority owners (just don't sign the CSA) and once the SC cannot obtain the 80% threshold within the stipulated time frame, it would have to be dissolved; let them pass any resolution they want in the meantime.

Yes, the proxy issue was one of the hotter issues raised with BCA during the 2004 amendment of the Land Titles (Strata) Act, (the LTSA), and under the new BMSMA, only managing agents are barred from taking proxies, although the proponents, namely, the Association of Management Corporations in Singapore (AMCIS) were in favour of restricting proxies to no more than three per person attending to avoid the situation where one owner controls the entire meeting with a hundred proxies in his hand.

BCA was of the view then that the repeal of the LTSA (except S. 84) and the consequential enactment of the BMSMA was only the first step towards rehabilitating the strata laws and a further review is expected in 2008 or 2009.

The industry is now of the view that proxies should be restricted to avoid the unhealthy situation as in Mandarin Gardens and some changes are expected shortly.

P.S. The above comments/information are not mine, but I am asked by an industry authority to post this information for the benefit of the public.