Lawyers, experts, MP say safety should come before aesthetics of buildings' facades
By Hoe Pei Shan And Linette Lai, The Sunday Times, 25 Jan 2015
By Hoe Pei Shan And Linette Lai, The Sunday Times, 25 Jan 2015
Condominium management bodies need to stop banning residents from installing safety grilles on balconies and windows just because it may spoil the look of the building, said lawyers and real estate experts.
If they insist on a uniform look for the estate, then they should come up with a set of approved grille designs instead.
This was the reaction to a ruling last week by the Strata Titles Board, which let a family with two young children install grilles in the balcony of their Buona Vista condo unit after their estate's management corporation (MC) twice refused to let them do so.
Members of the board ruled that "children's safety must be paramount, even if the grilles may affect the appearance of the building". This, they said, has been part of the Building and Construction Authority's (BCA) rules since 2005.
Ms Lee Bee Wah, who heads the Government Parliamentary Committee on National Development and Environment, hopes the latest case will serve as a precedent for management committees, that "if they were to insist and go to court, they would still lose".
"All condos should put safety before aesthetics," she said. "They should stop banning grilles based on appearance - we don't want to wait till somebody falls down, because then it would be too late."
Mr Toh Kok Seng, a strata dispute specialist who represented Dr Sujit Singh Gill in last week's case, also hopes other MCs which have said "no" to grilles in the past will "change their policies". MCs are made up of residents elected by their neighbours.
Mr Tang Chee Charn, executive director of real estate management services at Colliers International, said the condos his firm deals with typically agree on a standard grille for their residents."But I do know that some are very strict about maintaining the facade. I suppose they think that an ugly facade will result in a devaluation," he said, urging both residents and management committees to be more aware of the rules.
Ms Lee, an MP for Nee Soon GRC, believes there should be more dialogue between those running condos and the relevant authorities, such as the BCA. She said: "Some management committee members are not sure what they can and cannot do."
Disputes over grilles have been a longstanding issue. In 2012, the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the BCA wrote to The Straits Times to clarify that a unit owner shall not be prevented from installing safety devices to prevent harm to children.
Firms which install "invisible" grilles - typically made up of thin wires that do not obstruct views and are hard to detect from afar - said more condominiums have been approaching them for their services.
But the general manager of grille company Legate, Ms Jenny Goh, said some older condominiums typically are more restrictive. "Certain MCs can be very stubborn."
Just last month, a two-year-old boy fell to his death from an eighth-storey bedroom window in Kovan Melody condo.
For Dr Singh, a vascular surgeon, the waist-high glass wall at the balcony of his 13th-floor unit was not enough to prevent his four-year-old daughter from trying to climb it. "As parents, the safety of our children is extremely important," he told The Sunday Times yesterday. "I hope other MCs will follow this ruling and allow their residents with small children to protect them."
Family wins case to install grille in condo balcony for child's safety
By K.C. Vijayan, Senior Law Correspondent, the Straits Times, 24 Jan 2015
By K.C. Vijayan, Senior Law Correspondent, the Straits Times, 24 Jan 2015
THE Strata Titles Board has ruled in favour of a family who were twice refused permission to install a grille in the balcony of their 13th-level condominium unit after seeing their four-year-old daughter try to climb over it.
It held that the management corporation of 7 One North Residences (ONR) in Buona Vista was wrong in refusing permission to a family to install grilles above the glass wall of their 13th-level balcony.
In judgment grounds of the test case, released this week, it said: "The children's safety must be paramount, even if the grilles may affect the appearance of the building or if they constitute an alteration on common property and therefore are prohibited under ONR's by-laws."
Dr Sujit Singh Gill's application was turned down twice by the ONR's management corporation (MC), which claimed it would affect the building's unique and uniform appearance.
The MC suggested instead that grilles be placed at the edge of the living room to prevent child access to the balcony.
Dr Singh applied to the board last July to overrule the MC.
At issue was the rationality of the MC's decision and whether it could bar the installation based on the relevant building regulations.
The MC's lawyers, Mr Subramaniam Pillai and Ms Venetia Tan, argued that the grilles did not keep up the building's appearance as provided under ONR's by-laws and would obstruct maintenance of the glass wall, among other things.
Lawyers Toh Kok Seng and Daniel Chen for Dr Singh countered that the relevant ONR by-laws took effect only last July and Dr Singh could not have been aware of them as he had bought the unit in 2010. They argued that the ONR by-laws had to be consistent with the prescribed 2005 Building Maintenance (Strata Management) Regulations, which allow owners to install safety structures or devices to prevent harm to children - even if they affect the building's appearance under certain circumstances.
Lawyers Toh Kok Seng and Daniel Chen for Dr Singh countered that the relevant ONR by-laws took effect only last July and Dr Singh could not have been aware of them as he had bought the unit in 2010. They argued that the ONR by-laws had to be consistent with the prescribed 2005 Building Maintenance (Strata Management) Regulations, which allow owners to install safety structures or devices to prevent harm to children - even if they affect the building's appearance under certain circumstances.
The board comprising Mr Alfonso Ang, Mr Chua Koon Hoe and Mr Lim Gnee Kiang found that the MC had been "unreasonably difficult" with Dr Singh's request and had ignored the concerns for children's safety, as provided for under the 2005 regulations. It added that the grilles would have minimal impact on the building's appearance.
The board made clear that children's safety must be the overriding concern and the MC should support other such applications.
It called for the MC to provide guidelines for the installation of such safety devices to ensure they keep to the rest of the appearances of the building.
"Having grilles is not an attempt to abdicate parental responsibility. Instead, it serves as a safety precaution from leaning or climbing over the balcony glass wall. After all, it only takes a split second for the child to climb and fall over the glass, especially since it is only waist-high and easy to climb over," said the board.
Law firm Lee & Lee said on its case update website that "this is the first case in which the prescribed by-law of the Building Maintenance (Strata Management) Regulations 2005 has been considered in depth and will undoubtedly be of consequence to most, if not all, management corporations in Singapore".