Condo Owners Risk Losing Units Through MCST Forced Sales Over Unpaid Maintenance

A notice of intended sale was published in The Straits Times on 23 December 2024, stating that the owners owed about $61,000 to the MCST. A property title search showed the former owners hold Indonesian citizenships.

Checks by ST showed that the 2,325 sq ft freehold unit was sold for about $4 million at auction, which was 14.7 per cent lower than its opening price of $4.7 million. Urban Redevelopment Authority data showed a unit of the same size in the same block was sold at $4.84 million in May 2025.

At least one notice of intended sale has been placed by an MCST each month over the past year, based on checks by ST. The sums owed in these notices ranged from about $9,450 to $55,798.

In one such notice published on 20 February 2026, a unit owner at Park Court in Joo Chiat district was said to have owed $55,798 in arrears in contributions and accumulated interest. Another notice dated 24 March 2026 stated that a unit at Melville Park owed the MCST about $9,708.

However, not every notice leads to an actual sale. In most cases, owners settle arrears after the process begins, mortgage banks step in, or the matter is otherwise resolved before the property is sold.

The forced-sale process typically starts with a special resolution at an annual or extraordinary general meeting to proceed with the sale, followed by placing a notice of intended sale in the newspapers, threatening the unit.

If the unit’s owner does not pay the outstanding sums within six weeks after the notice is published, the MCST will appoint a valuer to value the property and an auctioneer to sell it. It typically takes four to five months from the publication of the notice to the MCST receiving the sale proceeds.

Mr Daniel Chen, a lawyer and partner at Lee and Lee who specialises in MCST cases, explained that MCSTs tend to take steps towards a forced sale where the arrears and interest exceed $20,000 or two years.

Mr Kok Yee Keong, a partner at Harry Elias Partnership LLP, said the fear of the MCST embarking on the forced-sale process and taking incremental steps towards that objective might be sufficient coercive power for the subsidiary proprietor to propose an instalment plan to settle the arrears.

Mr Chen, who handles about 10 to 15 MCST-initiated forced-sale cases a year, said the vast majority are resolved through payment by subsidiary proprietors or mortgagee banks taking possession of the units and paying the arrears.

Mr Andrew Lioe, president of the Association of Strata Managers, said one of its members, Ocean IFM, saw about five forced-sale attempts in the last three years. One of the units was subsequently put up for sale at two separate auctions in 2026 but did not get any bids.

Mr Tang Chee Charn, deputy managing director of Savills Property Management, said fewer than 5 per cent of owners are typically in arrears at any given time across most estates it manages. In most cases, owners settle after reminders or formal letters of demand, and only a small minority proceed to legal action.

Ms Joy Tan, head of auction and sales at ETC, a member of Realion Group, added that such units can be challenging to sell because physical viewings are often not possible and there is no guarantee that the unit is not occupied. Buyers would have to assess the property using secondary data and surroundings fundamentals, rather than a physical inspection.

Ms Tan, whose firm handled the sale of the Parkshore unit, said the property was sold at its first auction after two to three weeks of marketing. The final sale price was just over $4 million.

The Straits Times, 18 May 2026