Maintenance charges unpaid. Can the developer withhold your strata title?

You have paid the purchase price in full. Your strata title has been issued, but the developer refuses to release it until you settle alleged maintenance charges. Can the developer impose that condition?

In Perbadanan Kemajuan Bukit Fraser & Ors v Silverpark Sdn Bhd [2026] MLRHU 1102, the Kuala Lumpur High Court held that the developer could not withhold the owners’ original strata titles on that basis.

What happened?

The dispute concerned apartments at Fraser’s Hill Silverpark Resort.

The developer retained the owners’ original strata titles, claiming that maintenance charges and other amounts remained outstanding. It alleged that the arrears had accumulated in a continuing account from 2000 to 2025.

The owners applied to court for the release of their titles. Both sides accepted that the owners had paid the purchase prices in full.

What did the court decide about strata title delivery?

The court ordered the developer to hand over the original strata titles within 14 days and awarded RM6,000 in costs.

Once the developer received the full purchase prices, it no longer held any beneficial interest in the apartments. It held the titles as a bare trustee. In practical terms, it was holding them on the owners’ behalf.

The developer could not use possession of the strata title to compel payment of alleged maintenance arrears.

This reinforced an established principle. Earlier decisions distinguish a developer’s obligation to release or transfer title from its claim for unpaid charges. The court relied on those decisions.

What if maintenance charges really are outstanding?

The court referred to section 34 of the Strata Management Act 2013. It explained that genuine arrears should be pursued separately through the Strata Management Tribunal or a court with the appropriate jurisdiction.

The decision did not give owners a general exemption from paying maintenance charges. It rejected the developer’s attempt to make payment a condition for releasing the strata title.

However, management had already passed to the JMB and subsequently the MC. The developer nevertheless continued to claim charges for its own benefit. The court rejected its reliance on a continuing account stretching back approximately 25 years.

What should owners and management bodies take note of?

For an owner facing a similar demand, first check whether the strata title has been issued. Then confirm that you have paid the purchase price in full. Ask the developer to explain in writing why it is withholding the title and provide an itemised statement of charges.

A demand for payment should also identify who is legally entitled to collect it. Where a JMB or MC has taken over, an owner should not assume that a demand from the former developer remains payable to that developer.

For developers and management bodies, the proper course is to recover outstanding charges through the applicable legal process. Support the claim with proper accounts and records. Possession of an owner’s title does not itself create a right to retain it as security.

An owner’s entitlement to obtain the strata title and liability for maintenance charges are therefore separate questions. In this case, the developer could not use one to force payment of the other.

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