There is a move by the National Housing Development Authority to get the apartment owners in Government Housing Schemes to form Management Corporations and register with the Condominium Management Authority to control, administer, manage and maintain the housing complexes, under the Common Amenities Board (Amendment) Act No. 24 of 2003.

Once the Management Corporations are formed and registered with the Condominium Management Authority, the apartment owners of government housing complexes will be virtual tenants under the Condominium Management Authority. That also amounts to corporatisation and the "owner tenants" of the government housing complexes will be at the mercy of the Authority’ Board of Management consisting mostly public servants, whilst the "corporation" culture that will be brought "in will result in favoritism and discrimination with the so called majority decisions being very often be more unfair than fair."

It is a fact that Government Housing Schemes were the outcome of the necessity to provide housing to the not so affluent middle and lower middle income groups. Thus those who are either owners or tenants of apartments in Government Housing Schemes do not belong to the affluent section of society, though a few with high incomes may have bought apartments latterly. The apartments in government housing schemes were sold to the tenants under a Rent Purchase Scheme, and as a result the tenants changed to be owners. The market economy has still not brought about any substantial improvement to their economic status. In fact the situation is worse than what it was. They cannot bear additional expenditure involved in sustaining Management Corporations, as envisaged.

There are rules and regulations that apply to tenants/owners of Government Housing Schemes, especially where Condominium Property (Flats) are concerned. They have been held in the breach by some and the then Department of National Housing and the National Housing Authority that succeeded it failed to implement the rules and regulations, correctly and impartially.

In all housing complexes, unauthorized structures have come up and some residents have fortified themselves using vacant land which they are not entitled to. Even if something drops down from an upper floor flat, the fortresses of some are unapproachable. Putting up buildings on vacant land under state supervision, will go out of control after corporatisation and the enforcement of the law will go as kissing by favour. What the NHDA hopes to do is to get the owners turned tenants to enter into litigation against their neighbours and bear the costs of litigation in respect of issues the NHDA created through its inaction.

In other countries, Condominium Property Law is for property developers and new construction of Condominium Homes. There, internal roadways, playgrounds, distribution of electricity and water etc. come under the Management Corporation and as a result, Condominium Homes are expensive. Condominium Homes are priced taking into account all such expenditure as well and those who move in or purchase them are those who could afford that expenditure. Middle and lower income groups will not go into occupation of such homes, unless affordable. What the NHDA intends to do under the new Act is to rope in the owners of 30 to 50 years old apartments ‘in government housing schemes to be tenants under the Condominium Management Authority using sugar-coated pills.

The people, who bought Government Flats on the conditions that existed then, are different type of owners. It is not fair or correct, for them to be governed strictly under the provisions of the new act. A management corporation will turn out to be a virtual "white elephant" to apartment owners.

The apartment owners pay rates and taxes to the local authorities. Hence clearance of garbage, maintaining of sewerage systems, maintaining roadways, lighting, etc. is the responsibility of the local body. Providing electricity to the households is an obligation of the Electricity Board, whilst the National Water Supply and Drainage Board has to provide water service to the homes. It is a right the residents need to enjoy. The apartment owners pay the Electricity Board and the NWS&DB for such services. The necessity for such services to be supplied and managed by the Management Corporations is therefore an unnecessary exercise which is costly to the apartment owners, in Government Housing Schemes.

The issue of forming Management Corporations came up even before and on making representations to housing authorities and the minister, the move was shelved. Representations to the minister and the housing authorities jointly by the owners/tenants of government housing complexes will surely bring results in favour of the apartment owners, this time too.

The apartment owners, even at present maintain their apartments to the best of their ability whilst the common areas of the building are maintained jointly, with expenditure shared. There are a few who may not cooperate but that could be overcome by consultation, consensus and understanding. There has to be an organization and machinery towards that end. But not Management Corporations registered with the Condominium Management Authority and Gazetted as a Statutory Body.