Strata Titles Board takes issue with D’Leedon MC for initial refusal of unit owners’ request
The Strata Titles Board has taken issue with the management corporation (MC) of D’Leedon after the MC initially refused to allow the owners of two ground-floor units to install awnings at their private enclosed spaces, despite issues with killer litter in the estate.
The MC, which comprises unit owners, had told the Board it was not empowered to approve any installations to safeguard against killer litter if the necessary votes were not obtained at the annual general meeting (AGM).
Several attempts were made to support by-laws to allow fixed or retractable awnings at the AGM last year, but the requisite majority votes were not obtained.
“The concept of majority rule in a strata development in this context cannot be taken to the extreme when the safety of children is at stake,” said the Board in decision grounds last month.
The Board, which comprised deputy president Seng Kwang Boon, and members Tang Hang Wu and Chua Koon Hoe, added: “It cannot be Parliament’s intention for a management corporation to be impotent in the face of such a pressing problem faced by its residents.”
The Board found that under the existing strata management regulations, MCs may prescribe guidelines in relation to awnings where there is a killer litter problem.
“We urge management corporations not to adopt such an impractical and illogical interpretation of the regulatory framework governing strata developments, and work with the subsidiary proprietors to resolve the problem at hand,” it added.
Savills Property Management, the managing agent, had recorded 55 reported cases of killer litter in 2017 and another 57 last year, with several police reports being made as well, at the sprawling condominium complex located on the former Farrer Court site in the prime Tanglin district.
The owners of the two units, who have children aged between three months and eight years old, had initially sought permission last year from Savills to install the awnings. The owners, through Lee & Lee lawyer Toh Kok Seng, then applied and went through the arbitration process with the Board, seeking to install fixed coverings based on design guidelines set by the developer or the Board.
They felt this was a reasonable and proportionate response to the killer litter problem they faced.
But it emerged that before the hearing on May 7 this year, the MC had issued guidelines for the installation of retractable awnings.
The Board held that if the MC’s guidelines were issued earlier, the application by the two owners may not have been necessary.
The MC, defended by lawyer Lim Tat, which initially opposed the awnings without AGM approval, later argued retractable awnings were able to provide full coverage.
The applicants had sought fixed awnings or an alternative design as deemed appropriate by the Board to respond to the problem.
The Board ruled that retractable awnings were a reasonable and proportionate response to solving the killer litter problem, and awarded costs to the applicants.
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