Housing

Pandemonium in some condominiums

Kirthi Hewamanna

Most of these condominiums were set up over twenty years ago. In the early1970s the State owned rental buildings were converted to condominiums giving the opportunity for many tenants to buy their own units. This was a very noble idea of the Government at that time and the Minister of Housing.

However, for some people, this dream of owning a home has turned into a nightmare. This is due to lack of knowledge and experience of the officials who implemented the privatization of rental buildings at that time. There were no programmes conducted to educate the residents of this new concept.

The complex documentation of a condominium project should be clearly understood by the purchasers. Due to lack of knowledge of their duties and responsibilities of this new concept, these housing complexes have been facing serious problems over the years.

The residents say that despite numerous complaints made to the Authorities, nothing has been done to ease the situation. They neglected and routinely swept the problems under the carpet. To be fair by the authorities there wouldn't have been enough legislations to prevent or sort out these problems for the benefit of all unit owners. In variably some unit owners themselves created these problems to their own advantage. This was certainly detrimental to other unit owners.

Things have gone so far these problems have been rooted, nothing can be done to rectify them. One alternative is to demolish these lapidated buildings and distribute the proceeds out of the sale among the unit owners. Though the National Housing Development Authority (NHDA) is responsible for the present situation the blame should not be put entirely on them for certain problems. Some residents and unit owners have broken every rule and bye-laws of the Condominium Corporations.

This has made it impossible to run these complexes democratically, and be fair to all the residents.

According to some unit owners, the controls of Management Corporations of a number of complexes have been literally taken over by small groups of residents.

They use intimidation and subtle threats to have their own way. They have got their bread buttered on both sides!

Condominium Corporations of these complexes are extremely ineffective and almost non-existent. Some unit owners have taken advantage of this situation. They have built unauthorized structures and fenced in certain areas for their exclusive use.

They always make a point to get their relatives and friends to buy or rent the units adjacent to their unit to prevent complaints from other residents.

Some questions and answers

Have these unit owners benefited at all by purchasing these units when they were given the option to buy?

There are definite financial benefits, no doubt. Some of these units which were bought over 25 years ago for approx. Rs. 65,000/= with easy payment terms are now resold for over Rs. 6,500,000/=. Some of these condominium buildings are located in prime areas of the city.

Does the current Apartment Ownership (Amendment) Act 2003 cover the condominium concept adequately?

We are still grappling with the basics. There are other different condominium types in countries where urban land is used to the maximum while meeting the requirements of developers and purchasers of units. This is important in any vibrant economy. We have enough qualified architects, engineers and surveyors to match any of their counterparts in developed countries.

We also have willing and experienced developers who could handle any large project. Therefore, the current Act should be amended to cover mixed developments, phased condominiums, vacant land condominiums, industrial, retail, commercial and recreational condominiums.

What are the major problems facing the Condominiums of Sri Lanka today?

Unauthorized structures, fenced in common area land by ground floor unit owners, no proper maintenance and garbage collection, no system for allocation of parking areas, conducting businesses in the units, over-crowding, poor financial management, non payment of Condominium Fees by some residents and many more.

Almost all these problems are common to Condominiums set up at early stages of the introduction of this concept.

How are the residents affected by these unauthorized structures and the enclosed areas?

Many unauthorized structures have been constructed by unit owners as permanent additions to their units.These additions are built encroaching into 1 to 2 perches of common area land.

The current market price of land in the area can be as high as Rs. 1,000,000 per perch. This is a great loss to the Condo Corporation as this land is an asset belonging to all unit owners.

These structures and illegal enclosed areas deprive the other unit owners their rightful access to these common areas. It is also difficult for the maintenance people to carry on their work due to this access problem. As a result, during the rainy season some ground floor apartments go under water. The other sad part is that the children lose their play areas in these already congested housing complexes..

Are there any solutions to these unauthorized construction and enclosures?

These are problems with great complexity. There are solutions, but this has to be addressed very carefully. Turning a blind eye at the early stages by the Authorities was a "green light" for others to break the law.However, the Apartment Ownership Act clearly states that the unauthorized structures should be demolished without compensation.

Do you have the right to rent, lease or sell your unit without the approval or consent of the other residents or Condominium Corporations?

Yes, there should be a rule or a by-law in the Constitutions of the different Condominium Corporations. It is up to the residents and their Condominium Corporations to implement it.An application for approval for rent, lease or sale should not be unreasonably withheld.

In a building with multiple ownership there must be some consideration and fairness to one another. Nobody wants their neighbours to be drug dealers/addicts, terrorists or other undesirables. Overcrowding is also another problem. For example, a unit owner from a Colombo 5 condominium was worried as there were 22 young people living in a 3 bedroom unit on the same floor that she is in. We found out that they were working in "shifts" in a restaurant!

Who owns the vacant land of a Condominium housing complex?

Can this land be sold to outsiders?

All common facilities including land is jointly owned by the unit owners.The land can be used for further development the way they want or can be sold with the approval of the majority of the unit owners.

The proceeds of the sale can be utilized for the benefit of the unit owners only. Some residents from a Housing Complex in Dehiwela said that part of their land belonging to their Condominium Corporation was sold to an outsider by the housing authorities. This happened a long time ago. The owners never received any proceeds from that sale. There may be other similar cases.

Are there unutilized and under-utilized land belonging to Condominium Corporations?

Yes. There are approx. 400 families housed in a few buildings in a 5 acre parcel of land in the City. This is a total waste of prime land due to poor planning. They should be re-developed according to a new plan with proper utilization of the land What action should be taken to solve the problem of dilapidated condominium buildings, some of which are near collapsing?

This problem has arisen due to bad planning, no proper procedure, and no strict guide lines followed by the Authorities at all levels. Construction supervision and building audits should have been done by engineers prior to the Certificates of Conformity being issued.

These condominiums should be terminated properly and demolished. The re-development of this land has to be done keeping in mind the new trends and types of condominiums that are in existence in the developed countries.

What are the other problems facing the unit owner who purchased units in different condominium housing schemes?

Some residents say that they have not yet received their deeds after occupying the units for many years.

Commercial rates are charged by the C.E.B. for electricity supply for the staircases of buildings which is three times more than the residential rates. Internal renovations and additions by breaking load bearing walls made the buildings unsafe.

There are solutions to these problems, and they can be short term or long term depending on the complexity of the issues.

It has to be a genuine effort on the part of the Authorities starting with Awareness Programmes at different levels.