Safeguards for Consumers of Property Managing Agents

Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for National Development (a) in what ways the Government safeguards the interests of consumers of property managing agent services; and (b) why the Singapore Standard on the performance of managing agents for strata residential properties (SS 519 : 2006) was withdrawn.

Mr Khaw Boon Wan: Most consumers of residential property managing agent services live in HDB estates where the local Town Councils will ensure that the managing agents do their job properly and safeguard the residents' interests. For example, there are provisions in the Town Councils Financial Rules to ensure that the managing agents do not abuse the power for their own interests.

Outside of the HDB estates, the consumers of such managing agents are largely those living in strata housing. In this sector, the property managing agents' services are less extensive and typically include organising general meetings for the property owners, ensuring that the property is in satisfactory condition, procuring cleaning and maintenance services, and collecting maintenance charges. Property owners have a choice of hiring their own maintenance teams, or engaging the services of a third-party managing agent based on their expected service level and budget. The industry is quite well developed with more than 100 companies offering such services in Singapore. This gives property owners an adequate pool of managing agents to choose from.

The industry is currently self-regulated with several industry associations representing the interests of property owners and managing agents. These include the Association of Property and Facility Managers (APFM), Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers (SISV), and the Association of Management Corporations in Singapore (AMCIS). The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) also helps to raise the professionalism and performance standards of managing agents by issuing guidelines and conducting training courses for managing agents for strata residential properties.

Ultimately, the working relationship between property owners and their managing agents is based on a contract. If property owners are dissatisfied with their managing agent's performance, they can terminate the service in accordance with the contract entered between them.

In 2006, the Singapore Standards Council developed the SS519 as a Singapore Standard to help raise the professionalism of managing agents for strata residential properties. The emphasis was on the contractual obligation between a strata residential property management corporation and the managing agent. It was not on the managing agent's work performance. It also contained a specimen agreement for the appointment of managing agent.

In April 2011, the Association of Property and Facility Managers and the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers jointly worked out a similar agreement for the appointment of managing agents. With this new agreement, and as SS519 was no longer widely used, the standard was withdrawn with the consensus of the industry.

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