Debated in Parliament on 16 Oct 2012.
Ms Low Yen Ling asked the Minister for National Development (a) how many members of the public participated in online survey and face-to-face interviews during the public consultation on the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act (BMSMA) held in April-May 2012; (b) since 2005, what is the percentage increase in (i) the number of managing agents of strata properties; and (ii) the number of strata title developments; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider an education campaign to increase awareness of the BMSMA amongst dwellers of strata title developments.
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As part of the review of the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act (BMSMA), the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) conducted a public consultation exercise from April to May 2012 to solicit wider public views and suggestions on specific areas of the BMSMA that need to be improved. A total of 1,325 participants took part in the exercise. Out of these, 350 participated in the online survey and the remaining 975 participated in face-to-face interviews.
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The number of strata-titled developments rose by about 28%, from 2,271 developments in 2005 to 2,916 as at September 2012.
BCA only has information on the number of managing agent companies in Singapore from 2011. Currently, the managing agent industry is quite well developed with about 113 companies, which is an increase of about 18% from the estimated 96 managing agent companies in 2011. This gives the management corporations of strata-titled developments an adequate pool of managing agents to choose from. On average, about 70% of management corporations have engaged managing agent companies to help them look after their estates.
There is a Chinese saying "家和万事兴", which translates to "family prospers when members live in harmony". The same can be said of strata living. In 2005, BCA published a guidebook "Strata Living in Singapore" to provide homeowners with information on living in strata-titled properties and help facilitate better management of the estates. The electronic version of the guidebook is also available on BCA's website.
The BCA Academy also conducts training courses, such as the "BMSMA for Building Management Personnel" and "Good Governance for Management Corporation" for interested council members and managing agents to enhance their knowledge. Since 2011, BCA has also conducted three BMSMA-related briefing sessions in partnership with grassroots organisations and had received requests for more of such briefings. BCA will continue its outreach programmes to update existing and new management corporations of the latest requirements of the BMSMA.
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