A life in condominium is different from life in ordinary house. Tenants not only have next door neighbours but also have upstairs and downstair neighbours. In condominium there is also a governing body that regulates the management of the condominium environment, maintenance and the construction of environmental infrastructure and social facilities for the purpose of living together with all tenants in condominium.
However, legal conflicts often arise in living in a condominium. The parties involved in are as follows:
a. Developer;
Developer acts as condominium manager until a Tenant Association is established. Article 65 of Government Regulation No. 4 of 1988 on Condominium regulates the period of condominium management by the developer, at least three (3) months and a maximum of one (1) year since the establishment of Tenant Association.
Problems that often arise from the interests of developer are:
1) Developer decides on the charge of condominium management fees. Potential conflicts that arise are objections to the number of the fee that will be charged towards the tenants, who may feel that it is too high.
2) Developer basically has the principle of getting profit in constructing condominium, and it can be applied by determining service charge or management fees one sidedly.
b. Tenants Association;
Tenants Association is a representative of tenants, it takes care the interests of condominium tenants. Potential conflict that might arise is the decisions made by the Tenants Association which are not necessarily in the best interests of the tenants. This is happened often because there are strongholds that support or oppose the management of a Tenants Association. This has happened in some places.
c. Owner and Tenant;
Owners and tenant as the parties who are using a strata title unit and its environment, have an obligation to comply with disciplinary or house rules in accordance with the Article of Association and Bylaws, to pay management fees and sinking fund, to pay fire insurance premium, and to maintain the strata title unit and its surroundings. Potential conflict that may arise is if there are violations againts the rules, committed by the owner and/or tenants, and also disobedience of the owner and/or tenants in paying the management fees.
Conflicts that are possible to arise as described above are the result of the absence of detailed regulations as a legal protection for regulating the management and condominium’s life in Indonesia. Although there are Law No. 16 of 1985 on Condominium (the “Law of Condominium”) and Government Regulation No. 4 of 1988 on Condominium, but these rules cannot comprehensively accommodate the problems that can arise in living in condominium.
Ways that can be done to accommodate the problems above are as follows:
a. Toset a proper regulation and the provisions in the Article of Association and Bylaws which govern the things that might potentially inflicting legal conflicts;
b. Socialization from the housing agency or Regional Government about life in a condominium;
c. Guidance and instruction on how to manage condominium properly and effectively.
Ardhityo Rompas
