Vertical living satisfaction of homeowners in a medium-cost residential building in Klang Valley, Malaysia

Abstract

Purpose In Malaysia, a vertical residential building (VRB) is still facing challenges associated with property management. The lack of experience in property management resulted in the management, acting unprofessionally that cause a lot of problems to the homeowners and their properties. The findings demonstrated that maintenance of the facilities and common areas in a VRB is essential to ensure its optimal performance over its life cycle. This has to be carried out efficiently and professionally by the qualified property manager. Unfortunately, not every property manager can perform all the tasks efficiently and professionally. Thus, this leads to an increasing number of complaints by unsatisfied homeowners’ particularly on the maintenance and management of the buildings and facilities. To satisfy the homeowners, the issue of transparency is one of the area concerns that need to be emphasised in the property management system practiced in Malaysia. This case study area of Klang Valley poses as one of the urban areas that has the highest number of vertical buildings, especially the medium cost of VRB. The purpose of this study is to explore the satisfaction level of homeowners towards the management system, maintenance services and facilities provided by the management of the medium cost VRB in the Klang Valley. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a quantitative approach. The survey method was used as an appropriate method for inquiry of the data. Face to face survey was conducted with respondents at a medium-cost residential building in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Findings The findings demonstrated that homeowners living in medium-cost VRB in Klang Valley are satisfied and faced issues with the management system, maintenance service and services provided by the management of the medium-cost VRB. The only issue confronted by the homeowners with the medium-cost VRB is the commitment of the management towards their involvement in organising the activities, problem-solving and taking action on residents’ reports or complaints. Practical implications The findings suggest that appointing qualified property managers who understand property management has increased the performance of the management team. Most importantly, qualified property managers are equipped with knowledge in managing people, especially to create awareness on a sense of responsibility and belonging. Originality/value This study has bridged the research gap on property management of the medium-cost of VRB in Malaysia. This will add value to the management of the medium cost of VRB.

Secure Homes Criteria in Malaysian Houses: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Urban crime rates increase drastically in Malaysia where majority of the crime cases are related to the property crime [27,44]. Therefore, security criteria have become one of the important aspects to be considered when purchasing homes [37]. Furthermore, security issues should be emphasized by local authorities to improve the security criteria of resident.…”

Collective action components of low-cost housing: an empirical analysis using Ostrom's SES framework

“…, 2009; Abd et al. , 2017; Wahi et al , 2018; Musa et al , 2020). In a survey involving 50 respondents who were property managers of high-rise condominiums in Malaysia, 66% of the respondents found collection of service charges as the most excruciating experience (Latif Azmi, 2006).…”

“…For instance, Tiun (2009) identifies lowcost housing problems as: lack of planning, ignorance of buyers, lack of regulation on property managers, insufficient legislation and lastly ineffective management. Musa et al (2020) highlight the CPR problems as: issues of building repair, poor collection of service charge, poor Collective action components of low-cost housing management of sinking fund, management and house-buyers relationship, vandalism of common properties and lack of mechanism to promote community living. In sum, issues raised by both Tiun (2009) and Musa et al (2020) were related to users' behavior (not paying fees, vandalism, etc.…”

“…Musa et al (2020) highlight the CPR problems as: issues of building repair, poor collection of service charge, poor Collective action components of low-cost housing management of sinking fund, management and house-buyers relationship, vandalism of common properties and lack of mechanism to promote community living. In sum, issues raised by both Tiun (2009) and Musa et al (2020) were related to users' behavior (not paying fees, vandalism, etc. ), and the management (not attending to repair, poor management of sinking fund, etc.…”

“…On the other hand, from the management point of view, many researchers cited the poor collection of maintenance fees/service charges as one major reason that explained maintenance and management could not be carried out efficiently (Ariff and Davies, 2009;Che-Ani et al, 2009;Abd et al, 2017;Wahi et al, 2018;Musa et al, 2020). In a survey involving 50 respondents who were property managers of high-rise condominiums in Malaysia, 66% of the respondents found collection of service charges as the most excruciating experience (Latif Azmi, 2006).…”