Same services sought for strata properties
FEBRUARY 28 was the last day to pay the assessment tax to the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ). This has always been a dilemma for me as the owner of one landed property as well as a condominium unit.
As owner of a landed property, I am not subject to any maintenance charges. But as a condo unit owner, I have to pay maintenance fees and sinking fund charges, which are on the rise.
The charges are derived from the share portion of the unit, and the total commitment can be anything from RM200 to RM600 per month. This is a burden for apartment/condo unit owners.
While we pay the same assessment tax rate as landed property owners, the services provided by the local authority is not the same.
For landed properties, the local authorities provide many services, including garbage collection, landscaping, grass-cutting and cleaning of the common areas, repairing of the drainage system, maintenance of playground, resurfacing of roads and upgrading of infrastructure (road kerbs, humps and bollard, among others) that relate to safety matters.
However, for condo unit owners, other than garbage collection, the other services are provided by the management using the contribution of parcel owners. This disparity needs to be rectified.
We can understand the regulatory limitations in having different sets of assessment tax rates for landed and strata residences, but there’s nothing under the law to stop the local authorities from providing the same services to condo/ apartments as landed properties. When services are provided by the local authorities, the condo/apartment management can impose a lower MF charge.
We understand that any works related to the building per se and security-related infrastructure would be the responsibility of the management, but nothing should stop the local authority from assuming the responsibilities of doing internal road resurfacing, landscaping, grass-cutting, drainage repairs and more that are provided for landed properties. The request is only fair and reasonable because condo and apartment owners also pay quit rent.
I urge Zuraida Kamarudin as Minister of Housing and Local Government as well as MP for Ampang to look into this matter and initiate the necessary process towards implementing a “one assessment tax and one service system”. Let us be fair to all.