SINGAPORE – A penthouse unit owner was ordered to remove unauthorised works on the roof terrace area by the Strata Titles Board last week, which referred to the case as an apparent “long-running cat-and-mouse game with multiple parties”.
The management corporation (MCST) of Skies Miltonia development had applied to the Board to seek the removal against unit owner Sophie Lin, who was represented by her father Victor Lim in the proceedings.
Skies Miltonia is a development in Yishun comprising 420 units in eight blocks of 13-storey buildings, 10 townhouses and one single-storey block. The owner’s unit is one of the penthouses in the development, each with their own private habitable roof terrace.
At issue was whether the owner will be allowed to retain the works and structures she had erected at the lower roof terrace of her unit and the open terrace outside her study/family room.
The Board noted that since the works were done in 2018, Ms Lin and/or her father have appeared multiple times before the Strata Titles Board, as well as the courts, on this issue.
In decision grounds issued last Tuesday, the Board noted: “The respondent remained cagey about whether she has obtained approvals from the MCST or the relevant government authorities all throughout these proceedings, even during the hearing on 19 April, 2022.”
It added: “Beyond technical arguments, the respondent has made no attempt to satisfy the Board that the applicant is wrong, and that the respondent’s works/structures were in fact authorised.”
The Board – comprising deputy president Raymond Lye, as well as members Lim Gnee Kiang and Vicki Loh – held that it was not reasonable for Ms Lin “to advance technical arguments of this nature and demand that the (MCST) further particularise its case”.
“In doing so, the respondent is, in essence, relying on her own breach to stymie the application,” it said.
“The (MCST) cannot be expected to routinely go on a detective hunt or engage in a cat-and-mouse game with subsidiary proprietors to see who has failed to comply with the law and to what extent.”
After duly considering the submissions of both parties, the Board ordered that Ms Lin dismantle all the works and structures as identified in the MCST’s application in January, and reinstate the entire lower roof terrace and open terrace outside the study/family room of her unit to its as-built condition.
She was also ordered to reinstate the adjoining common property to its as-built condition within two months of the order.
The Board further directed that she pay for the engagement of a professional engineer to be appointed by the MCST to confirm that the reinstatement works have been carried out and to allow access to the premises for this purpose.
The MCST was represented by lawyer Tng Kim Choon, while Ms Lin was defended by lawyers Devathas Satianathan and Glenna Liew.
Ms Lin was further ordered to bear the MCST’s costs on an indemnity basis fixed at $15,000.
“Simply put, the respondent is in this situation of her own volition. At the outset, she had elected to buy a penthouse unit with extensive private roof terraces that were clearly demarcated as being ‘open to sky’,” said the Board.
Industry sources said there are several such penthouse developments with restrictions covering the roof terrace area, and this case made clear that Urban Redevelopment Authority and Building and Construction Authority approvals are required and strict guidelines must be followed.
Mr Victor Lim said yesterday his lawyers were studying the judgment and would advise in due course.
“At all times, my family pursued the cases as a matter of principle and out of general safety concerns. In this respect, we have filed a High Court suit against the condo developer in relation to the lightning protection systems” he added.
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