Hope for owners of old stratified buildings

There is hope for owners of old stratified buildings or special buildings.

The government has set up the Strata Ownership Special Fund to resolve the ownership issue of old stratified buildings known as special building schemes.

According to Energy and Natural Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, the fund would assist owners of special buildings especially those from the B40 segment who face complications while applying for strata titles.

Shamsul Anuar said in a statement yesterday that the fund would help buyers of special buildings especially low-cost homes to obtain a strata title.

He said the settlement of strata title registration would facilitate special building property transactions and inheritance distribution process by the heirs of deceased homeowners.

Special buildings refer to properties with no Certificate of Completion and Compliance (CCC) / Certificate of Fitness (CF) and were occupied before June 1996 (automatic classification), or from June 1996 until April 11, 2007 (classified by the state authority).

Strata title is generally for properties in a multi-storey building, also known as stratified properties. Strata titles are separate individual titles issued to units of apartments or condominiums within a development that shares common facilities such as security, car parks, and facilities governed by a common owner.

Shamsul Anuar said that the failure to apply for strata title for special buildings could be due to either the absence of the original homeowners, the developers had been wound up, or the housing scheme faces financial problems to apply for the strata titles.

Strata title registration would lead to the establishment of management corporations to better manage these special buildings, he said.

According to the statement, the Land Surveyors Board has contributed RM2 million to the fund to resolve strata title rights of four special buildings namely Pangsapuri Shangri-La in Taman Seri Cheras, Selangor; Taman Indah Fasa 1, Penang; Pangsapuri Taman Tap in Teluk Intan, Perak; and Taman Permai Ria Blok 24 & 26 in Kuala Lumpur.

Source: NST