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| Sunday, 3 April 2005 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Think twice before purchasing a house by Athula Wimalaratne It is our duty to educate the public on certain important aspects that must be considered in purchasing a house in a Housing Scheme despite investor and developer attitudes in alluring customers. It is very clear that developers have to encourage and attract the customers or buyers in different ways and provide additional features in their Housing Schemes such as playgrounds, children parks, leisure activities, environmental friendly items as well as additional facilities such as common water storage facilities to houses, additional generators/transformers for electricity, parking facilities, good roads, drainage, liquid and solid waste disposal systems etc which are commonly known as common elements and common amenities. They are very well provided and maintained by most of the developers during the unit selling stages. Normally due to lack of awareness of long term probable complications in using and enjoying common elements and common amenities provided at the stage of property transactions, most of the purchases go by the ownership of their individual Housing units only. Later most of them understand their mistakes after identifying the difficulties in using and enjoying those commonly provided elements or amenities. It may be too late at that stage to rectify the situations promptly as the housing unit dwellers may not be accurately covered by the relevant legal aspects at the time of deed transaction. Most people mistakenly interpret common elements and common amenities as relevant only to multi storied Housing Schemes. Actually it is relevant to Housing Schemes with even separate single storied houses in many instances. At the time of unit ownership transaction, it is the buyers' privilege to negotiate with the original owner or the developer as the case maybe on their rights of using and enjoying common elements and common amenities in the long run. In many instances cases the purchases are entitled to have shared ownerships or percentage ownerships of those common elements and common amenities already provided. It is also necessary to have a legal validity to shared ownerships and they are to be properly addressed in their deed transaction documents. In order to fulfil this requirement there has to be a 'Registered Condominium Plan' for the entire development as shared ownerships of common elements and common amenities are properly listed in condominium Plan for easy reference and it becomes a valid legal document on registration. There are certain acceptable standards in providing common amenities and common elements for the well being of occupants/unit owners in the long run. Mainly those standards are regulated by the newly formed Condominium Management Authority as per Common Amenities Board (amendment) Act No. 24 of 2003. Reference the Apartment ownership (amendment) Act No. 39 of 2003 it is mandatory to get a certificate from General Manager of condominium Management Authority to register the condominium plan. This Certificate ensures that the common amenities provided for the benefit and welfare of the occupants of the condominium parcels of the building are satisfactory and arrangements made as regards the control, administrative, maintenance or management of the common elements of condominium property are satisfactory. With this Certificate and registered Condominium Plan all buyers are more secured with in a legal frame work in their long term usage of all common elements and common amenities. Since most of the Investors and Developers sell the housing units in Housing Schemes even before the construction work is commenced it is advisable to have the Registered condominium plan for them initially and we name it as 'Provisional condominium plan registration'. If the original owner registers the Condominium Property in more than one completion stage with a view to complete the balance units in later stages then it is named as 'Semi condominium plan registration'. It is mandatory to have 'CMA certificate' for all above registration classification as the case may be. Time frame for the registration of a condominium plan, provisional condominium plan or semi condominium plan shall be (a) Within 18 months from the date of such first sale or in agreement to sell or three months from the date of the completion of such building whichever is earlier. (b) Within six months from the date of completion of such building, if the sale or agreement to sell of any part of the building, of which the first of such sale or agreement to sell off took place, after the date of completion of such building. The Condominium Management Authority wish to advise all relevant buyers, investors, developers, management corporations, unit owners, occupiers and other interested parties to educate themselves with these requirements and details as the Authority is empowered to regulate the condominium industry as per Apartment Ownership (Amendment) Act No. 39 of 2003 and Common Amenities Board (Amendment) Act No. 24 of 2003. "We Regulate continual enhancement of habitable condominium properties" So interested parties are hereby advised to call our "Customer Care Unit" on 2447429/2447432 or visit Condominium Management Authority 1st Floor, Sir Chittampalam A Gardiner Mawatha, Colombo 2. The writer is the General Manager of the Condominium Management Authority, Ministry of Housing Construction Industry, Eastern Province Education and Irrigation Development. He is a member of the Institution of Engineers (Sri Lanka) & Institution of Project Managers (Sri Lanka). |
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