How to check a condo’s management (JMB/MC) before you buy in Johor Bahru (2026)

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By Jason Lim, REN 84424 · IQI Realty · Checked on 5 November 2026

This guide is for buyers from Singapore, Indonesia, India, China and elsewhere who are looking at a condo, serviced residence or gated strata home in Johor Bahru. The short answer: before you pay a booking fee, find out who runs the building (the developer, a Joint Management Body or a Management Corporation), then read its latest audited accounts, the last AGM minutes and the by-laws, and get a written statement of the unit’s charges and arrears. A well-run building has a sinking fund that is actually growing, most owners paying on time and lifts with valid certificates.

Why building management matters as much as the unit

A strata unit is a share in a shared business: owners pay monthly charges, and the management body spends them on security, cleaning, lifts, insurance and repairs. Run well, the building stays easy to live in, rent and sell. Run badly, lifts fail, arrears grow and buyers become cautious about the whole building.

The government knows this is a weak spot. Malaysia has almost three million strata units in more than 27,000 schemes, and in August 2026 the housing minister said the Strata Management Act would be reviewed to improve accountability of JMBs and MCs (The Star, 10 August 2026). In June 2026 the anti-corruption commission (MACC) proposed wider COB powers over misuse of funds (Berita RTM, 19 June 2026). Until then, buyers must do their own checks.

Developer, JMB or MC: who runs the building?

In Peninsular Malaysia, including Johor, strata buildings are managed under the Strata Management Act 2013 (Act 757). Which body is in charge depends on the building’s age and whether strata titles have been issued. My property glossary explains the terms.

Stage	Who manages	When it starts and ends	What it means for you
Developer’s management period	The developer	From vacant possession until one month after the JMB is set up (section 7)	Charges are set by the developer. Defects are often still under the defect liability period.
Joint Management Body (JMB)	A committee elected by purchasers, with the developer as a member	Set up at the first AGM, which the developer must call within 12 months of vacant possession (sections 17 and 18)	Owners now control the budget. The developer must hand over accounts and records (section 15).
Management Corporation (MC)	All parcel owners, through an elected management committee	Arises once strata titles are issued. The JMB is dissolved three months after the MC’s first AGM (section 27)	The long-term stage for most completed JB condos.

First ask: “Is this building under the developer, a JMB or an MC, and when was the last AGM?” A building handed over years ago that still has no JMB deserves hard questions.

Maintenance charges and the sinking fund

There is no fixed price per square foot in the law. Each unit pays according to its share units, multiplied by a rate set from the building’s budget. On top of that comes the sinking fund contribution, which the Act sets at 10% of the charges at every stage (sections 12, 25 and 59). A general meeting can raise it, not lower it. Late payment interest is capped at 10% a year.

• Maintenance account: running costs such as security, cleaning, lift servicing and insurance.
• Sinking fund account: kept separately, only for capital work such as repainting and replacing shared equipment (section 51).
• What to look at: whether the sinking fund grows each year. A low balance in an older building can mean a special levy when the lifts or roof need replacing.

My guide to maintenance fees and sinking funds in Malaysia explains share units and how to estimate a unit’s yearly cost. Quit rent and assessment tax are separate bills; see my quit rent and assessment guide.

The documents to ask for

As a buyer you usually get these through the seller. Every AGM notice must include the last AGM minutes and the audited accounts with the auditor’s report (EdgeProp, July 2019), so the seller should have them.

Document	What it tells you	Ask
Certificate or statement of charges and arrears for the unit	Current monthly charges, sinking fund, any arrears and interest on this unit	Seller or your lawyer, from the JMB or MC (section 31; fee up to RM50)
Latest audited accounts	Income, spending, sinking fund balance, total arrears owed by all owners, any auditor’s qualifications	Seller (comes with the AGM notice)
Minutes of the last one or two AGMs	Planned repairs, disputes, rate increases, special levies, whether quorum was reached	Seller
Budget for the current year	Whether charges cover real costs or a rise is coming	Seller or management office
By-laws, including additional by-laws	Rules on pets, renovation, parking, short stays and visitors	Management office (owners can apply in writing, section 32)
Lift certificates of fitness	Whether lifts have been inspected and passed	Look for the certificate displayed in each lift, or ask the office
Insurance details	Whether the building is insured and for what	Management office

Be realistic about access. In a 2024 case reported by BurgieLaw in April 2025, the Court of Appeal held that custody of the building’s documents sits with the JMB, and that an individual owner may inspect the account books for a fee but has no right to copies. An office that will not hand over bank statements is not necessarily hiding anything.

How to read the audited accounts quickly

1. Sinking fund balance: it should rise each year unless a planned project was paid for.
2. Arrears owed by owners: if the total rises each year, collection is slipping.
3. Surplus or deficit: repeated deficits usually mean a rate increase is coming.
4. Auditor’s opinion: a qualified opinion or incomplete records are worth asking about.
5. One-off spending: lift replacement, waterproofing or legal costs, and how they were funded.

Collection rate and arrears

The collection rate is the share of billed charges that owners actually pay. Malaysia has no central database of maintenance arrears, but an industry figure quoted by Bernama in March 2025 gave rough ranges: about 80–95% for high-end developments, 60–70% for medium-cost and 40–50% for low-cost. These are estimates, not an official benchmark; ask for the last three years’ rates.

Under the standard by-laws, management may name defaulters on the notice board and, 14 days after a notice, deactivate access cards and suspend facilities. In October 2026 the housing minister said defaulters must still get another way in, such as registering at the guardhouse and using a basic lift or stairs (The Star, 29 October 2026).

For the unit itself, your lawyer normally gets a management statement and the sale agreement makes the seller clear charges up to completion. For an MC building, the Act protects a purchaser who made a written inquiry within 21 days before taking title and got no reply within 14 days, or was told nothing was owed (section 59(5)). My guides to the legal steps of buying in Johor and hidden costs of buying property cover the rest of the paperwork.

AGMs, by-laws and how owners take part

• AGM every year: a JMB must hold an AGM once a year, within 15 months of the last one (regulation 34 of the 2015 regulations). Failing to do so is an offence (Skrine, June 2022).
• Quorum: half of those entitled to vote. Minutes that keep noting “no quorum” suggest owners have stopped engaging.
• Voting: owners in arrears cannot vote, so a long ineligible list is another arrears signal.
• By-laws: the 2015 regulations set 30 standard by-laws, and each building can add more by special resolution, with fines of up to RM200 (Malay Mail, 29 September 2026). Check pets, renovation, parking and short stays before you buy; see my Airbnb and short-stay guide.

Defects, lifts, repairs and insurance

Lifts

Every lift in Malaysia needs a valid certificate of fitness, which lasts 15 months, and must be serviced monthly with a comprehensive inspection at least every three months, according to the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (The Star, 11 September 2026). DOSH said most lift accidents happened in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Johor. On a viewing, check the certificate date in each lift and ask whether replacement is planned and funded.

Common defects and leaks

Look at the basement, roof deck and corridor ceilings for stains and drips, and check the minutes for waterproofing, facade and pump work. For leaks between floors, the 2015 regulations say the management should inspect within seven days and issue a Form 28 certificate naming the cause and who must fix it (MahWengKwai & Associates, October 2020). For a newer building, also check the defect liability position in my vacant possession and defect checklist and latent defects after the DLP guide. In low-lying areas, read my flood risk guide and ask whether the basement has flooded.

Insurance

The JMB or MC must insure the building (sections 21 and 59 of the Act), and the premium comes out of the maintenance account. It covers the structure and common property, not your renovation or contents; see my property insurance guide for your own cover.

Questions to ask the management office and the seller

Ask the management office	Ask the seller
Is the building under the developer, a JMB or an MC? When was the last AGM?	Are your charges and sinking fund fully paid? Can you get the statement in writing?
What was the collection rate in each of the last three years?	Can I see the last AGM notice, minutes and audited accounts you received?
Is any rate increase or special levy planned?	Have you had leaks or other problems? Were they fixed?
When were the lifts last certified, and is replacement funded?	Is there any dispute with the management or neighbours?
Are there open COB, Tribunal or court cases involving the building?	Did your renovation get management approval?

Visit in the evening and on a weekday morning to see lighting, guards and lift queues. These checks fit into a subsale inspection before you make an offer.

Red flags

• No AGM for more than 15 months, or minutes that keep recording no quorum.
• Total arrears rising year after year, or a collection rate the office will not share.
• A sinking fund balance that is shrinking without a major project to explain it.
• Accounts that are late, unaudited or carry a qualified audit opinion.
• Several lifts out of service, or expired certificates of fitness.
• A seller who cannot or will not produce a charges statement.

One red flag need not end your interest, but it should change your questions. My guide to subsale property risks covers other checks, and new launch vs subsale compares buying into a building with a track record against one that has none yet.

Where to complain: COB and the Strata Management Tribunal

• Commissioner of Buildings (Pesuruhjaya Bangunan, COB): administers the Act through the local council. The COB receives audited accounts and can appoint an auditor to investigate them (section 26). Iskandar Puteri’s city council, for example, has its own COB (Sinar Harian, January 2019).
• Strata Management Tribunal: hears claims of up to RM250,000 between owners, purchasers, developers, JMBs, MCs and managing agents, and aims to give its award within 60 days of the first hearing day where practicable (MahWengKwai & Associates, July 2022). You do not need a lawyer to file.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute or a large purchase, use a lawyer. Foreign buyers should also remember Johor’s price floor: foreigners can generally buy residential property only from RM1 million, with some exceptions such as designated zones (New Straits Times, April 2026). See my Johor foreigner minimum price guide.

Where to buy if this matters to you

Every area has well-run and poorly run buildings, so check each building, not the postcode:

• Mount Austin: many completed condos with records to compare.
• JB Sentral and Bukit Chagar: high-rises near the CIQ and RTS Link, where lifts matter most.
• Danga Bay: waterfront towers; ask about facade and waterproofing.
• Iskandar Puteri: newer buildings, some still in the developer or JMB stage.
• Tebrau, Setia Indah and Molek: established areas with condos and gated strata homes.
• Permas Jaya and Senibong: east-side condos, old and new.

Compare them on my JB property map. If you are weighing a condo against a landed home, my condo vs landed vs SOHO guide and gated and guarded homes guide explain how strata rules apply to each.

More Johor living guides: Landlord guide to tenancy agreements · Managing a JB property from overseas · Living in JB, working in Singapore · Best areas to live in JB

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a JMB and an MC?

A Joint Management Body (JMB) runs a strata building after vacant possession but before strata titles are issued, with purchasers and the developer as members. A Management Corporation (MC) takes over once strata titles are issued and is made up of all parcel owners. Both work under the Strata Management Act 2013.

How much should a condo’s sinking fund be in Malaysia?

The Strata Management Act 2013 sets the sinking fund contribution at 10% of the maintenance charges, at the developer, JMB and MC stages. A general meeting can raise it but not lower it. Check that the fund’s balance grows over the years.

Can I see a condo’s accounts before I buy?

Usually through the seller. Every AGM notice must include the audited accounts and the last AGM minutes, and an owner or prospective purchaser can ask the JMB for a certificate of the unit’s charges, sinking fund and arrears for a fee of up to RM50.

Will I have to pay the seller’s unpaid maintenance fees?

Your lawyer normally asks the management for a statement and the sale agreement makes the seller clear charges up to completion. In an MC building, a buyer who made a written inquiry within 21 days before taking title is protected if the MC did not reply or said nothing was owed.

What is a healthy maintenance fee collection rate?

There is no official benchmark. Industry estimates reported by Bernama in March 2025 put collection at about 80-95% in high-end schemes, 60-70% in medium-cost and 40-50% in low-cost schemes. A rate that is falling year after year is the bigger warning sign.

Where can I complain about a JMB or MC in Johor Bahru?

Go to the Commissioner of Buildings (COB) at the local council that covers the building, which administers the Strata Management Act. For disputes and claims of up to RM250,000, you can file at the Strata Management Tribunal without a lawyer.

Shortlisting a condo in Johor Bahru?

Tell me the projects you are looking at, your budget and whether you will live in or rent out. I will share what I know about each building, help you get the charges statement, minutes and accounts through the seller, and arrange viewings. You can also book an appointment, or a Zoom consultation if you are still abroad.

Sources: Strata Management Act 2013 (Act 757), sections 7, 12, 15, 17, 18, 21, 25, 26, 27, 31, 32, 51 and 59, accessed November 2026; StashAway, sinking fund and maintenance fees in Malaysia, 19 October 2026; The Star, “Govt mulls amending Strata Management Act to strengthen accountability of JMBs, MCs”, 10 August 2026; Berita RTM, MACC’s six recommendations on strata financial governance, 19 June 2026; The Star, “Strata management must provide alternative access to maintenance fee defaulters”, 29 October 2026; New Straits Times (Bernama), “Maintenance fee arrears: should we be concerned?”, 11 March 2025; BurgieLaw, “Court of Appeal: a parcel owner is not entitled to documents within the custody of a JMB”, 2 April 2025; EdgeProp, “The ABCs of: AGM, EGM and committee meetings”, 27 July 2019; Skrine, “Committee members convicted for failure to convene AGM of JMB”, 1 June 2022; Malay Mail, on strata by-laws under the Strata Management Act 2013, 29 September 2026; The Star, “Keep lifts in working order” (DOSH), 11 September 2026; MahWengKwai & Associates (Mondaq), “FAQ on inter-floor leakage and party wall damage in strata schemes”, October 2020; Berjaya Sompo, on strata buildings insured by the management corporation, checked November 2026; MahWengKwai & Associates (Mondaq), “10 things to know about the Strata Management Tribunal”, July 2022; Sinar Harian, “MBIP bertindak selepas terima aduan” (MBIP Commissioner of Buildings), 6 January 2019; New Straits Times, “Foreigners hit Johor property resale wall”, 20 April 2026

Jason Lim, REN 84424, IQI Realty Sdn. Bhd. E (1) 1584/6. General information checked on 5 November 2026, not legal or financial advice. Laws, rules and building practices change; confirm with the management body, the COB and your lawyer before you commit.