An MCST is a management corporation, constituted under the Land Titles (Strata) Act 1967 when a strata title plan is registered. Its records, maintenance, repair and insurance duties sit in the Building (Strata Management) Act 2004, renamed from the BMSMA with effect from 1 October 2025.
This page is written for MCST councils and managing agents in Singapore. Every provision cited below is on Singapore Statutes Online, and the regulations referred to as the Regulations are the Building Maintenance (Strata Management) Regulations 2005 (S 192/2005).
The statute was renamed, and most sources have not caught up
Section 1 of the Act now reads: "This Act is the Building (Strata Management) Act 2004." The amendment note is [Act 12 of 2020 wef 01/10/2025]. The renaming was effected by Act 12 of 2020, the Building Control (Amendment) Act 2020, and the same Act repealed Part 3, sections 4A to 9, entirely. The long title changed too, to "An Act to provide for proper maintenance and management of buildings in strata developments." The Act was originally Act 47 of 2004 and commenced on 1 April 2005.
Two practical consequences. First, the Singapore Statutes Online identifier is BSMA2004, not BMSMA2004, which returns Page Not Found. Second, most of the guidance you will meet still uses the superseded title: BCA's own Strata Management Guides SMG7 and SMG8, both first published in April 2022, still say "Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act (Chapter 30C) ('BMSMA')". BCA has adopted the new name on its Strata Management Guides page, which also states that the revised Act "came into effect on 1 February 2019". Read against the statute, that date is the commencement of the 2017 amendments (Act 35 of 2017), not the renaming, which took effect on 1 October 2025.
Citation style used below: Building (Strata Management) Act 2004 (2020 Rev Ed), formerly the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act 2004, abbreviated B(SM)A.
What a management corporation must keep
- The strata roll (s.46). The MC must prepare and maintain it. It records share value per the accepted schedule of strata units, each subsidiary proprietor's name and Singapore service address, transferees, mortgagees and priorities, corporate representatives, discharges, transfers and assignments, and service addresses under s.65(1). A service address includes an email address where one is provided. Section 46(4) also requires the MC to record and maintain in the strata roll a copy of the by-laws for the time being in force.
- Minutes and council records. First Schedule para 10A sets what minutes of a general meeting must contain, and Second Schedule para 8 does the same for council meetings. Second Schedule para 3(2) requires the council to maintain a notice board and display council meeting minutes not later than the 14th day after the meeting, and general meeting minutes not later than the 45th day, kept displayed for not less than 14 days. The notice board may be an online notice board on the MC's website.
- Notices and orders (s.29(1)(g)). Proper records of notices given to the MC under any written law, and of orders of a court, a Board or other tribunal served on the MC.
- Books of account and the audit (s.45). The books and accounts of every MC for each financial year must be audited, subject to the s.134 exemption. The auditor must be a public accountant within the meaning of the Companies Act 1967, appointed at the AGM or, if none was appointed there, by the council not later than the 90th day after the AGM concludes.
- Filings with the Commissioner. Under the Regulations, the secretary must furnish council members' particulars to the Commissioner within 30 days of appointment (reg 9), and the council must serve a written post-AGM statement on the Commissioner within 30 days (reg 10).
The retention rule is section 48(2): every MC must retain "all its records, books of account and any other documents relating to any of its transactions or operations for a period of not less than 5 years" from the end of the financial year in which those transactions or operations are completed. Non-compliance without reasonable excuse is an offence under s.48(3), and because no penalty is expressly provided, the general penalty in s.128 applies: a fine not exceeding S$10,000.
A note of caution rather than a legal conclusion, that five year floor is expressed by reference to "transactions or operations". Plans and as-built drawings delivered on handover are not obviously transactions or operations, and s.47(1)(b)(iii) assumes the MC still holds them on demand. Treat five years as a minimum for transactional records, not as a licence to destroy building plans.
The developer handover: what should have arrived, and when
The handover provisions are section 23 (money, accounts and keys) and section 26(4) (documents and plans). Under s.23(4), within one week after the first AGM the owner developer must transfer control of the MC's money to the newly elected council and "deliver to that newly elected council or executive committee all keys and other means of access that the owner developer possesses". Under s.23(5), for two years after that transfer the developer must keep all financial records relating to the pre-handover period, make them available for inspection free of charge on request, and allow the MC to copy or audit them at the MC's own expense.
The first AGM itself must be held no later than the earlier of one month after the end of the initial period, or 8 weeks after a written request from subsidiary proprietors of at least 10% of total lots (s.26(1)). Section 26(4)(a) then requires that "at the end of or within 2 weeks after convening the first annual general meeting" the owner developer place before the meeting and deliver to the MC copies of:
- all plans required to obtain the TOP and the CSC, where applicable, for all buildings, including amendments, filed or lodged with the Commissioner of Building Control under the Building Control Act 1989;
- any as-built drawings in the developer's possession indicating, as far as practicable, the actual location of any pipe, wire, cable, chute, duct or other facility, if the developer has reason to believe it is not located as shown on a plan filed with the Commissioner. Note the conditional trigger: this limb only bites where the developer knows the as-built position differs from the filed plan;
- all contracts entered into by or on behalf of the MC;
- a copy of the strata title plan;
- names and addresses of contractors, subcontractors and suppliers of labour or materials, as prescribed;
- all warranties, manuals, schematic drawings, operating instructions, service guides, manufacturer's documentation and other similar information respecting the construction, installation, operation, maintenance, repair and servicing of any common property or limited common property;
- all records required to be prepared or retained by the MC under the Act;
- a manufacturer's manual for prefabricated bathroom units, if incorporated, and any other prescribed records.
The Regulations add to that list, and this is the stronger hook. Regulation 6(a) is unconditional: it requires "all plans, including as-built drawings showing the location of any pipe, wire, cable, duct, chute or other facility for the provision of systems or services, whether or not submitted to the Government or any public authority". Regulation 6 also covers the TOP, the CSC, planning permission and the final approved submission drawings showing final GFA, all current insurance policies, all notices and directions from Government or any public authority, an inventory of furniture, equipment and movable property, a list of every consultant, and the strata roll. Regulation 5 prescribes the contractor and supplier list: the main contractor, every nominated subcontractor, every nominated supplier of labour or materials, every subcontractor, and every supplier of tiles or sanitary fittings. Cite the Regulations, not just the Act.
What the developer's failure actually costs
This is where most commentary goes wrong. The penalty in s.26(9) attaches only to s.26(1), failing to hold the first AGM: a fine not exceeding S$5,000 and, for a continuing offence, a further fine not exceeding S$100 per day after conviction. There is no separate criminal penalty for breaching s.26(4)(a). Do not tell a council that the developer will be fined for not handing over plans.
The remedy is financial. Section 26(5) provides that if the developer contravenes s.26(4)(a) and the MC has to pay any person to obtain a document referred to in that provision, "the amount so paid is deemed to be a debt owing to the management corporation by the owner developer". That is the mechanism an MCST uses to recover BCA plan-purchase costs from the developer.
Section 47: the inspection right and the certificate
A subsidiary management corporation, or a subsidiary proprietor, mortgagee, prospective purchaser or prospective mortgagee of a lot, or a person authorised in writing by such a subsidiary proprietor or mortgagee, may apply in writing, in respect of a lot, on payment of the prescribed fee. Two limbs of section 47 are routinely confused and it is worth keeping them apart.
- The inspection limb, s.47(1)(b). The MC must make available for inspection the strata roll, the notices and orders mentioned in s.29(1)(g), "the plans, specifications, certificates, drawings and other documents delivered under section 26(4)", the minutes of general meetings and of the council, the books of account, the last statement of accounts, Land Acquisition Act 1966 notices and awards, and "any other record or document in the custody or under the control of the management corporation".
- The certificate limb, s.47(1)(c). The MC certifies, as at the date of the certificate, the regular periodic contributions and their periods, unpaid contributions and amounts levied under s.40 or s.41, amounts recoverable under s.30, interest payable, whether the MC has received a copy of any collective sale application or order under s.84A or s.84FA of the Land Titles (Strata) Act 1967, and whether it has received any Land Acquisition Act notice or award. Under s.47(3) it is conclusive evidence, as at its date, of the matters stated, in favour of a donee or a person taking for valuable consideration. That is why conveyancers rely on it. It certifies nothing about plans.
Timing is fixed by s.47(2), if no time and place is agreed on or before the 7th day after receipt of the application, the MC must immediately post a notice fixing a time between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on a date not later than the 21st day after receipt. Under s.47(4) an applicant may take extracts or make a copy on payment of the fee, but may not remove the document from the MC's custody without the MC's consent.
| Service | Prescribed fee |
|---|---|
| Name and address of the chairperson, secretary, treasurer and managing agent, s.47(1)(a) | S$5 |
| Making documents available for inspection, s.47(1)(b) | S$15 per hour or part thereof at each attendance |
| Certifying any matter, the section 47 certificate, s.47(1)(c) | S$25 per certificate |
| Copy not exceeding A4, s.47(4) | 30 cents per page |
| Copy not exceeding A3, s.47(4) | 60 cents per page |
| Copy exceeding A3, s.47(4) | S$3 per page |
| Electronic copy, including emailing it, s.47(4) | 40 cents per 100 MB, or part, of pre-compression size |
| Search of the Commissioner's records, reg 22 | S$20 for each type of information requested |
Fees are those in reg 11(1) and reg 22 of the Regulations as at the 1 February 2019 consolidation, which is the version currently published on Singapore Statutes Online. Check the current version before charging or paying.
If information is wrongfully withheld or a record is not made available, s.113 allows a Strata Titles Board to order the MC, a subsidiary MC, a managing agent, or the chairperson, secretary or treasurer to supply it. Contravening a Board order carries a fine not exceeding S$10,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 5 years or both, under s.120(2).
What a managing agent must hand back
Section 48(1) catches "a person who has possession or control of any records, books of account or keys belonging to a management corporation", which on its face includes an outgoing managing agent. Delivery to a named council member must happen not later than the 7th day after service of notice of a council resolution requiring it. Failure without reasonable excuse is an offence under s.48(1A), with a fine not exceeding S$5,000.
The mechanism that matters most is section 67(9). Where a contravention by the MC of a duty-imposing provision is an offence, and the performance of that duty has been delegated to a managing agent, the provision is, while the delegation remains in force, "to be construed as if a reference therein to the management corporation were a reference to the managing agent". A delegated managing agent can therefore be convicted of the MC's record-keeping offences. A Board order under s.113 can also name the managing agent, and a court order under s.88(2) can be made against it. Separately, a managing agent appointed by the MC holds office until the conclusion of the third AGM after appointment, the expiry of the term, or termination, whichever occurs first (s.66(2)), and one related to a subsidiary proprietor must declare the relationship in writing prior to appointment (s.66(4)).
Insurance: the standard is reinstatement to as-new
Section 70(1): "Unless otherwise directed by a resolution by consensus, the management corporation constituted in respect of a strata title plan must insure every subdivided building shown in the strata title plan and keep the building insured under a damage policy." The definition of "damage policy" in s.69 sets the basis of cover: rebuilding or replacement on destruction, repair or restoration on damage short of destruction, so that the rebuilt or repaired part is "in a condition no worse nor less extensive than that part or portion or its condition when that part or portion was new", plus debris removal and the remuneration of architects and other persons whose services are necessary as an incident to the rebuilding.
The Act does not use the phrases "reinstatement value" or "replacement value". The statutory standard is reinstatement to as-new condition, and it is worth writing it that way in council papers. The sum insured is calculated under reg 14 by adding: the estimated cost, as at the date of commencement of the damage policy, of rebuilding or replacement to as-new condition; the estimated cost of removing debris; fees payable to architects and other professionals employed in the rebuilding; and the estimated amount by which those three may increase during the 12 months following the commencement of the policy. Section 71 adds the further cover the MC must effect, including anything it is required by law to insure against such as under the Work Injury Compensation Act 2019, public liability of not less than S$1 million (reg 16), and the good-faith liability of the chairperson, secretary, treasurer and council members.
No periodic valuation is required by the Act. The words "valuation", "valuer" and "revaluation" do not appear in the insurance Division of the Act or anywhere in the Regulations. The only recurring trigger is reg 14's "as at the date of commencement of the damage policy", meaning the sum insured must be re-estimated at each policy inception or renewal. If your MC commissions a valuation on a fixed cycle, that is good practice, not a statutory duty.
The maintenance duty, and where it stops
Section 29(1)(b) is the operative duty: it is the duty of a management corporation "to properly maintain and keep in a state of good and serviceable repair (including, where reasonably necessary, renew or replace the whole or part thereof)" the common property, each door, window and other permanent cover over openings in walls where a side of the door, window or cover is part of the common property, and any movable property vested in the MC. The same duty expressly extends to any fixed EV charger owned by the MC and installed in the common property (s.29(1A)).
It stops at limited common property. Under s.29(3), where a strata title plan comprises both common property and limited common property, on creation of the LCP the MC must perform its s.29(1) duties "only in respect of common property that is not limited common property" and must "cease to perform those duties" for the LCP, subject to s.29(4). Sections 30 and 31 give the MC powers to carry out work, including within a lot in defined circumstances, and powers of entry. Enforcement runs through s.88 (court orders, which may be made against council members or the managing agent as well as the MC) and s.101(1), under which a Strata Titles Board may settle disputes about any defect in a lot, a subdivided building, its common property or limited common property, about liability for the costs of MC work, and about the exercise or performance of, or the failure to exercise or perform, a power, duty or function.
Common property versus lot: the strata title plan decides
"Common property" in s.2(1) is a two-limb test for limb (a): such part of the land and building "not comprised in any lot or proposed lot" in the strata title plan, and "used or capable of being used or enjoyed by occupiers of 2 or more lots". Limb (c) then catches specified items whether or not comprised in a lot: pipes, wires, cables or ducts serving two or more lots or the common property, the cubic space enclosed by a structure enclosing them, any structural element of the building, and the waterproof membrane attached to an external wall or a roof. The statutory examples include foundations, load-bearing walls, columns, beams, shear cores, struts, ground anchors, slabs (not including any layer that is the underlayment or the flooring finishing), trusses, common staircases, external walls, roofs and facades serving two or more lots, gardens and car parks, central air conditioning and fire sprinkler systems, and service pipes, wires, cables and ducts.
Windows are the standard trap. Section 2(9) provides that all windows of a lot located on an exterior wall "being either louvres, casement windows, sliding windows or windows with any movable part, are part of the lot and not common property", and that all other such windows "are common property, unless otherwise described in a strata title plan".
Follow the chain and it becomes clear why the strata title plan is the controlling document. The MC's repair duty attaches to common property only, and ceases for limited common property. What is common property depends on what is not comprised in a lot. What is comprised in a lot depends on what is shown as a lot on the strata title plan. And s.2(9)(b) expressly defers to how a window is described in the strata title plan. Cost allocation is then fought under s.101(1)(b) and the duty question under s.101(1)(a) and (c).
SLA holds the plans that answer the boundary question: Certified Plans (CP) showing final boundaries of land parcels and Strata Certified Plans (CPST) showing final boundaries of strata lots, together with Registrar of Title Plans and cadastral maps. Where a strata lot spans multiple storeys with voids, a table in the CPST shows the floor area, void area, the sub-total area of each storey, and the total strata void and strata area of the lot. These are available to the general public through SLA's Integrated Land Information Service (INLIS).
When the MCST has no usable drawings
There is no provision requiring a management corporation to reconstruct missing plans. The exposure is nonetheless concrete, and it sits in the inspection limb: an MC that never received the s.26(4) bundle, or has lost it, cannot comply with an application under s.47(1)(b)(iii). The applicant escalates to a Strata Titles Board order under s.113, and breach of that order is s.120(2). The certificate limb is unaffected, so missing drawings do not block a section 47 certificate.
The honest first step is retrieval, not survey. In order:
- BCA Plan Purchase System. The eligibility table expressly lists "Type 3: I am the Chairman of Management Corporation Strata Title (MCST)" as an applicant who can apply to view and purchase the approved building and structural plans, supported by the current Property Tax Statement for the address containing the name of the MCST, or a Certificate of Constitution of Management Corporation from SLA. An authorised representative applies as Type 4 with the chairman's signed authorisation plus the same supporting document. Under Building Control Regulations reg 49 the search fee is S$45 and each set uniquely identified by a reference number is a further S$65; BCA contacts the applicant within 10 working days on availability. Fees and eligibility are on BCA's plan purchase page, which is the figure to check before you budget.
- The strata title plan from SLA. Strata Certified Plans depicting final strata lot boundaries are available to the general public through INLIS.
- The CSC or TOP date from BCA. Building Control Regulations reg 49A lets an owner obtain, for a S$45 fee, the date of issuance of the CSC or, where there are no records of that date, the date of issuance of the TOP. That date is what determines when the building falls due for periodic inspection, and the same provision can return the name of the Qualified Person who prepared the plans, which often points at the practice that still holds the originals.
Retrieval frequently comes back partial. BCA's records reflect what was submitted, so a building that has been through undocumented alterations, or whose services were never installed as shown, leaves a gap that only measurement closes. Section 26(4)(a)(ii) exists precisely because services are sometimes not located as shown on the filed plan, and an MCST with no services record is exposed every time it opens a wall or a ceiling. That is the point at which a measured record earns its place, for facade repair, waterproofing renewal, re-roofing and M&E replacement tenders that would otherwise be priced with a risk margin, and for the geometry side of a cost-allocation dispute. If your building is in that position, start with what to do when the floor plan is missing or wrong, then look at as-built documentation or Scan-to-BIM for the deliverable formats.
The boundaries, stated plainly. A measured record does not satisfy the developer handover obligation and does not cure the developer's breach; the MC's right against the developer is a s.26(5) debt claim. It is not a strata title plan and cannot determine the legal boundary between a lot and common property: boundaries come from the strata title plan registered with SLA, and a scan records what is physically present, which is a different question. It is not a valuation and does not determine the sum insured. And it is not a section 47 record, because the inspection right relates to the documents delivered under s.26(4); a newly produced measured record is a useful substitute in practice, but it is not that document and should not be represented as such.
One more accuracy point, because it is often mis-sold. An MCST is not in breach of the periodic structural or facade inspection regimes merely for lacking drawings. What missing drawings do is force a fallback methodology, more intrusive opening up, and a weaker evidential base. BCA's PSI Guidelines for Structural Engineers require the engineer to obtain the building's latest structural layout plans from BCA before commencing and, in surveying unauthorised works, to gather information by visual inspection, engineering judgement, interviewing the management corporation, owners, tenants and users, and checking the drawings. The facade guidelines ask for details of as-built records and drawings of facade systems "if available", which confirms that absence is contemplated rather than fatal. The detail of both regimes sits on periodic structural inspection and periodic facade inspection.