Property management companies want automatic fee increase

A man walks through the courtyard of a residential complex in Macau

The associations of property management companies want to introduce an automatic building management fee update pegged to the inflation rate. The fee increase would happen on every contract renewal.
This proposal came yesterday during a meeting of the members of the 2nd Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly (AL), which intended to discuss the legal regime for the management of the common parts of the condominiums.
The president of the 2nd Standing Committee, Chan Chak Mo, brought the proposal forward to debate. The committee aims to create a legal procedure that allows the condominium management companies to perform a yearly update of their fees according to the official inflation rate of the year before.
“According to the opinions of the sector, they claim that, at the moment of the contract renovations, the fees should be determined according to the inflation rate or the consumer price index,” said Chan Chak Mo, cited by Radio Macau.
This measure comes in the wake of a new law coming into force that introduces the minimum wage for the condominium workers. The condominium management companies claim that this law has brought them many problems and increased costs.
As the Times reported, since the implementation of the Law on Minimum Wage for Cleaning and Security Workers of the Property Management Industry, which came into effect on January 1, several controversial cases have arisen from instances in which property management companies have raised their fees and suspended their services. The management companies allege that the introduction of the minimum wage would add an extra cost to their services. Some of the residents that live in affected buildings have expressed concerns over security if the companies cease operations.
These concerns from residents have lead the government to contact the Housing Bureau (IH) to set up a contingency plan to assist flat owners via the Management Commission, in case the flat owners decide to manage private buildings independently. However, this help from IH should be a restricted provision of support during negotiations between newly formed commissions and former management companies. This would ensure that the buildings’ common areas remain under property management. RM