Condo management wins judgment against developer for negligence

In what was touted as a landmark ruling, the joint management body (JMB) of a high-rise condominium in Ara Damansara successfully obtained a judgment against HSB Development Sdn Bhd for breach of duty of care for common property defects.

This came after the Shah Alam High Court ruled on Sept 18 that AraGreens Residences’ JMB had sufficiently pleaded its case for the tort of negligence against the strata property’s housing developer.

The court also ruled that it has resulted in the plaintiff suffering damages for six defects and faults at the condominium.

The defects that HSB Development was found liable for are water dampness at basement car parks, defective swimming pools with numerous peeling tiles, damaged wooden deck, water retention and ponding on the futsal court, unusable rock-climbing wall that lacked safety certification, and wet driveways at basement car parks.

The court then ordered HSB Development to pay the plaintiff RM459,946 in compensation to offset the legal fees that were spent by the latter.

‘Justice is served’

Speaking to Malaysiakini, former JMB chairperson for AraGreens Residences Francis Lim Soon Hoe, heaved a sigh of relief, pointing out that justice was served after AraGreens Residences’ JMB took HSB Development to court over five years ago.

Lim said the decision to sue HSB Development came after the JMB had exhausted all avenues with the developer to seek rectification of the common area defects.

“After our pleas were not heard, we finally got the court to agree with us.

“It’s not about taking revenge or making money, it’s about setting things right.

“We hope that this will give hope to other JMBs in the country, who are going through similar situations as we did, but don’t know how to go about it,” Lim said.

Should the defendant file an appeal against the judgment, Lim said his party was convinced that they would prevail.

“We will respond to the appeal. The case that we put forth was on the balance of probabilities. The judge sided with us.”

The defendant has the liberty to file an appeal against the judgment within 30 days from Dec 11.

Malaysiakini is attempting to reach out to the defendant over the matter.

Lim, a businessperson, added that his party has submitted quotations of approximately RM25 million to the court to rectify the common area defects.

The High Court judgment set a precedent for JMBs to hold developers accountable.

The court ruling will enable JMBs to initiate action for such breaches and not be limited to only having home purchasers pursue such relief against the developers. - Mkini