Strata Titles Boards to review mediation, arbitration processes
Disputes among condominium owners over issues from collective sale bids to water seepage could be more speedily resolved, with the Strata Titles Boards looking to improve its mediation processes.
It said in its 2018 annual report released on Feb 1 that it will review the entire process of how mediation and arbitration hearings are conducted.
This is to improve the way proceedings are conducted and make the processes more user-friendly for the applicants and respondents.
It also plans to digitise the system for collective sale and other applications, so it can do away with people having to manually complete and submit applications in person.
The new rules should help avoid a repeat of a stand-off last September between a home owner and the condominium manager that held up vital repair works affecting an entire block.
The dispute arose when the condo management wanted to replace or remove a number of pipes and other plumbing items that passed through the owner's 49th-storey unit.
Some of the pipes were connected to a central chilled water air-conditioning system that supplied the block, including the offices on lower levels.
The owner refused access to her apartment for the work and the dispute ended up in the lap of the Strata Titles Boards.
After hearing all parties, it overruled the unit owner's refusal and allowed the management to undertake the work, on the condition that any damage incurred was rectified.
Strata Titles Boards president Alfonso Ang said in the report: "We will pay greater emphasis on resolving water seepage disputes expeditiously so the party who suffers from the seepage can seek redress without long-drawn-out mediation and arbitration hearings."
He added: "Improvement with the aid of technology is the easier part. The quality of the decision-making process is more important."
It has already made progress in this area with a fast track system introduced last year. This helped shorten the workflow for applications and resulted in savings of around a week.
Mr Ang said the fast track initiative helped resolve applications "expeditiously" given the spike in collective sale applications last year.
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