Changes to the Land Strata Titles Act will take effect starting today, following the enactment of the Amendment Act in Parliament on May 18.
The amendments aim to provide more clarity to the process of en bloc sales and balance property owners’ interest.
One of the amendments is the imposition of a two-year restriction period starting from the date an initial collective sale attempt failed. This is to discourage numerous attempts at en bloc sales when there is insufficient interest from the owners.
The first re-try to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting for the re-appointment of a sale committee will need the support of at least 50 percent share value or the total number of owners, while 80 percent will be needed for the second or subsequent re-tries during the two-year period.
The requisition threshold is currently set at 25 percent of the total number of owners or 20 percent by share value.
Another amendment is the empowerment of the Strata Titles Board to release a “stop order” to cease mediation once it becomes evident that the affected owners want adjudication in court.
The amendment could help cut the time and costs spent to resolve contentious en bloc applications.
Some changes also apply to the en bloc sale committees. One of the changes requires those standing for election to the sale committee to declare the extent of ownership that they or their immediate family have in the development.
To make sure that the sales process is not dragged out, the sale committee will be given a one-year time period – which starts from the date the sale committee is established – to get the first signature for the Collective Sale Agreement; otherwise, it will be automatically dismissed.
The changes are applicable to en bloc applications that were made on or after the date of commencement of the Land Titles (Strata) (Amendment) Act.