PROPERTY management practitioners for strata developments have been given 12 months to register with the Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers (BOVAEP), as stipulated by the recently amended Act 242.
The Act — now known as the Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers Act 1981 — was passed last October and gazetted on Jan 2, 2018. It was previously known as the Valuers, Appraisers and Estate Agents Act 1981.
Valuation and Property Services Department deputy DG Dr Zailan Mohd Isa (picture) said property managers must register with BOVAEP and comply with the Act to remain in practice.
“We are aiming to achieve a 100% success rate to have all practitioners regulated under the new Act.
“This would help to solve prevailing issues within the industry for the betterment of home and building owners,” she told reporters at a press conference after the launch of the Register of Property Managers in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
She said currently 5,000 professionals in the business are still not registered.
“We want to ensure that after the timeframe given, all of them would conform to the Act,” Zailan said, adding that only 1,200 practitioners are already registered.
BOVAEP board member Kamaruzaman Jamil said that unregistered practitioners who fail to comply within the stipulated timeframe can be fined up to RM25,000 and barred from practising within the industry.
“The process to be part of the Act over the 12-month period would also be significantly flexible compared to the normal procedures, which are more stringent.
“I’d like to urge practitioners to come forward and be part of the Act to avoid any unwanted circumstance,” he said.
Last year, only 10 claims on mismanagement and malpractice by registered property managers were directed to BOVAEP, while 116 cases involved illegal practitioners.
To date, at least 19,000 strata schemes are available throughout Malaysia, benefitting 7.5 million people, or 30% of the total urban population.
BOVAEP president Nordin Daharom said in his keynote address that the responsibilities of property managers are very challenging as they will need to manage all kinds of situations, having to liaise with many parties, while honing solid technical expertise to solve problems.
“I need to emphasise that property managers need to be the ‘Jack of all trades’ to maintain that respect for the profession,” he added.
As all property managers will be regulated by BOVAEP, unscrupulous and illegal practices could be controlled to safeguard the millions of ringgit that have been invested by the public for their properties.
The launch ceremony yesterday was officiated by Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Tan Sri Noh Omar, accompanied by Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.
“Property management that is well-governed will lead to the well being of the nation and confidence from investors,” Noh said.
