Financial Times

New rules for condominium management
By Duruthu Edirimuni
A new organisation to manage condominiums is expected to bring some order to the management of high-rise apartments that are mushrooming all over the city. The rules of the Condominium Management Authority (CMA) prohibit haphazard construction of condominiums and stipulate that a builder has to obtain a certificate of compliance from the CMA prior to registering the condominium with the Land Registry.

Chairman of CMA, M. M. Abdul Kalam said that most developers pretend that they do not know about the Act and demonstrate their ignorance while some of the builders do not adhere to the common amenities requirements when building condominiums.

The CMA, formerly the Common Amenities Board, was set up through the CMA Act enacted last year to control, manage, maintain and administer the condominium, semi condominium, and provisional condominium properties.

Kalam said that the Apartment Ownership Law of 1973 has been repealed with the introduction of the Condominium Management Authority Act. "According to the Act, a building with even one floor above is considered as a condominium," he said.

"Management of condominiums have been stressed at various points, but many small time developers are not even aware of the Act and many buyers are not aware of their rights," Kalam said.

Minister of Housing, Ferial Ashraf, recently stressed the importance of educating the general public on the new concept of condominium management when she addressed the heads of institutions coming under the purview of her ministry .

When asked about the new Act, Shiva T. Naganathan, Consultant, Roma Property Developers said that he has not seen the Act but heard about it. After the condominium units have been sold, the developer of the apartment complex moves out of the management of the building, as by then, a Management Council or the Management Corporation consisting of a body of owners has been established by the owners themselves, to represent their interests.

Under the new Act there are a set of by-laws enacted, which specify that an owner selling a condominium must inform the management Council and the Colombo Municipal Council prior to the secondary sale. Kalam said that some Condominium Management Corporations, which have been established, do not function to the maximum expectations and emphasised the need for forming more Management Corporations in all flats and apartments to look after the interest of residents.

Stephan Anthonisz, Director Property Sales, Asian Hotels and Properties Ltd., said that at Crescat Apartments there is a Management Council. "Most don't understand what condominium living is and what condominium dwellers' rights are," he said.

Frank Irugalbandara, Chairman, The 2000 Plaza (Pvt) Ltd., said that setting up the CMA was a good move but raised a question as to what happens to the existing laws of the Urban Development Authority (UDA). "The UDA itself has laws that do not allow people to build haphazardly. Where do they fit?" he asked?

Some industry experts say that it is superfluous to have a CMA when the dwellers can take recourse in the normal law of the country. "There is nothing new in the law," an industry official said.

Kalam said that the CMA was established at the tail end of the last government. "I agree that there are gray and even dark areas in the law," he said adding that there are duplications in duties and functions.

Kalam said that the condominium buyers and the owners do not have sufficient information on managing and maintaining condominiums. "We have organised a series of seminars to educate them on the rules and regulations of the CMA and educate residents on their rights and duties with regard to condominium flats and apartments," he said.

However, he laments that although the law is in place, the CMA does not have enough teeth. "We are not empowered to use those powers vested in us," he said adding that the CMA is however proceeding with the preliminaries to implement the law.

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