Proposed measures to help ageing condos welcomed, but implementation and funding are concerns

“Managing agents could determine the amount required for long-term maintenance, while the law could require estates to collect a certain percentage of those costs in advance, ensuring funds are available when major works are needed,” he explained.

Mr Cheah noted that proxy voting is less of a concern today, after an earlier review by BCA reduced the number of proxies one person can hold. Instead, he suggested it be made mandatory for home owners to attend annual general meetings to ensure the decisions made truly reflect their views.

Managing agent Hansen Tan said he supports lowering the consent threshold for essential works to increase the chances of such works proceeding, adding that it would be beneficial to define what constitutes essential works to help estates make decisions more efficiently.

Currently, a special resolution of 75 per cent of owners’ voting share is needed for such improvement works. The BCA said it is prepared to reduce this to a 50 per cent simple majority or share value.

He also noted that only painting is defined as an essential service, which requires the MCST to repaint the estate every seven years, while other works, like lift maintenance and upgrading, fall under grey areas.

Lifts usually need replacing after 25 years to 30 years, said Mr Tan, who is deputy managing director of Chambers International. But some owners view lift replacements or modernisation as “improvement works” and oppose them, making it hard for the council to get the necessary approval to upgrade these essential facilities.

He added that major infrastructure replacement can be extremely costly.

For example, replacing a lift typically costs between $200,000 and $300,000. In a development with five blocks and two lifts per block, the total price can be between $2 million and $3 million, said Mr Tan, whose firm manages 180 developments.

Ms Winnie Wong, senior managing director of property management at Savills Singapore, said in an earlier report that many MCST sinking funds are far from sufficient for major works, a problem likely to worsen in the next decade as more buildings age.

Ms Wong supports legislation or policy to ensure reserves are built up, including setting minimum contributions.

She said reducing the threshold to 50 per cent for essential repairs that involve upgrades or improvements would help speed up the decision-making at annual general meetings.

Mr Lim Ming Yi, 45, who sits on the management councils of DUO Residences in Bugis and Thomson Euro-Asia in Novena, said owner-occupiers are generally more supportive of maintenance works that improve the estate’s condition, while investors may be more concerned about the impact on rental returns.

“I think it is a very good step because I have been on four MCSTs in the past, and often the agenda and proper upkeep of the condo can be compromised by different interests,” he noted, adding that residents will usually accept and support such works, but investors not living there themselves may put up strong resistance.

Mr Lim also said clearer guidance from the Government on what constitutes essential works could help build awareness and gain support, as councils would be able to show that the spending is required by law rather than discretionary.

However, Mr Cheah, a property investor, said the divide between investors and owner-occupiers is not always clear-cut.

In some cases, investors may be willing to contribute to maintenance works to keep the property attractive to tenants, while owner-occupiers may be more reluctant to support higher maintenance costs since they do not benefit directly from higher rents or resale prices, he said.

All stakeholders The Straits Times spoke to said they support greater financial transparency to improve estate governance.

Mr Francis Poh, 73, who lives in Grandlink Square in Geylang, said that although there is a risk that making the financial information of MCSTs public could potentially affect property values, such a move would ensure fairness and accountability in how councils manage estate funds.

Several residents said the proposed changes may not resolve the financial challenges faced by ageing estates.

Mr Nallan Chakravarti Raghava, 73, a former council member of the Lakeview Estate in Upper Thomson, said older developments like his struggle with issues such as water seepage and frequent lift breakdowns but lack the funds to carry out major repairs.

where many residents are retirees and a quarter of the 240 units are rented out.

“Lowering voting thresholds would help, but it would not solve the problem when many older estates do not have the funds and neither do the residents,” said Mr Raghava.

“It’s really a double whammy – the estate is ageing, and so are the owners.”