08/02/2026
🏛️ 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐑𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐍𝐨 "𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞" 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐉𝐌𝐁
The Court of Appeal recently delivered a definitive judgment in the Gurney Paragon case, clarifying the "One Development, One Management" principle under the Strata Management Act 2013 (SMA).
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐞:
A developer and commercial owners established a separate management regime for the commercial component of a mixed development, leaving the Joint Management Body (JMB) to manage only the residential towers. The High Court initially allowed this, citing "fairness."
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐥'𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧:
The Court unanimously set aside the High Court's ruling, establishing several critical precedents:
✅ No "Contracting Out": Parties cannot use Sale and Purchase Agreements (SPAs) or AGM resolutions to bypass the law. The SMA mandates a single JMB and one set of accounts for a development area.
✅ Ultra Vires Actions: Any resolution to separate management or exclude the JMB from the commercial component is null and void.
✅ COB Limits: The Commissioner of Buildings (COB) has no power to validate a management structure that the law expressly prohibits.
✅ Retrospective Liability: Commercial owners remain statutorily liable for charges. The JMB must now regularise accounts by holding a fresh AGM to determine a "just and reasonable" 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬 retrospectively.
✅ Common Property Control: All common property (including commercial facades and car parks) must be surrendered to the JMB's control.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲:
This ruling is a major win for JMBs/MCs nationwide, reinforcing that statutory duties take precedence over private contracts. Mixed-use developments must be managed as a single entity during the JMB period, regardless of developer arrangements.
Counsel for JMB: Lai Chee Hoe , Deyvinah and Low Yen Hau (Messrs Chee Hoe & Associates)
Counsel for Respondents: Ashok Kumar and Lim Chin Lun (Messrs Skrine)
