Check What Caused the Problem Before Deciding Who Pays
A non-cooling air conditioner, a leaking ceiling or a leaking pipe cannot be assigned to the landlord or the tenant simply because the problem shows up inside the unit. The safer approach is to record the current condition, establish the cause, and then check this against the lease, the equipment records and the applicable strata management rules.
It also helps to separate three different questions: who contacts the technician first, who can approve the repair work, and who ultimately pays. These are not necessarily the same party.
This article covers common-property and inter-floor leak issues under the strata management system that applies in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan.
The Lease Should Spell Out Maintenance, Damage and Equipment Replacement
How repair responsibilities are divided between landlord and tenant should be confirmed against the lease and the applicable law. Natural wear and tear on equipment, routine maintenance, and damage caused by misuse should not all be treated as the same category.
Take an air conditioning unit as an example: regular cleaning, a breakdown caused by a prolonged lack of maintenance, and normal wear on parts each require checking different information. Even if the lease states that the tenant is responsible for cleaning, that does not automatically mean the tenant must pay to replace the entire unit.
At handover, it helps to record an inventory of furniture and equipment, existing wear, photographs and working condition together. If the lease includes a minor-repairs clause, it should state clearly what it covers, the cap per incident or per year, and whether it excludes pre-existing defects and natural wear and tear, so the parties do not end up arguing only over the amount.
A Shared Pipe May Not Be Outside the Unit, and an Exclusive Pipe May Not Be Inside It
Responsibility for pipework in a strata property cannot be determined by location alone. The applicable leak regulations look at which units a pipe serves: a pipe serving more than one unit and a pipe serving only one unit may be treated differently, even if they run through the same section of ceiling or wall.
Repairs to common property are generally the responsibility of whichever body is in charge at the time, such as the developer, the Joint Management Body (JMB), the Management Corporation (MC), or another applicable management body; where a construction defect is involved and the Defects Liability Period (DLP) is still running, the developer’s liability also needs to be confirmed.
So a lease clause stating that “interior repairs are the tenant’s responsibility” cannot be used to excuse the management body or the developer from work they are legally required to carry out.
A Leak Between Floors Should Trigger the Inspection Procedure
If a leak appears on a ceiling or between floors, the first step can be a written notice to the management body with photographs, the location and the timing, requesting an inspection under the applicable procedure.
The relevant regulations generally require the management body to inspect as soon as possible after receiving the notice, and in any case within seven days. After the inspection, a Form 28 certificate must generally be issued within five days, stating the cause and the party responsible for the repair; any extension is subject to the rules.
The location of the unit upstairs, what the pipe is used for, construction defects and other evidence can all affect the finding. Water dripping from above is not, on its own, grounds for skipping the inspection and demanding payment directly from the upstairs tenant.
If there is a dispute over the inspection or the finding of responsibility, it can be raised with the Commissioner of Buildings (COB) under the regulations. Keeping the notice, the inspection result, quotations and correspondence makes it easier to check the record later.
When Damage Is Urgent, Limit the Loss First and Keep Evidence
If a leak is getting worse, or appears to affect electrical safety, the management body and a suitable repair technician should be contacted immediately, with safety measures taken according to the situation on site.
Dealing with the urgent situation first does not mean responsibility has already been determined. Before-and-after photographs, a technician’s written statement on the cause, quotations and payment receipts all help to sort out the costs afterward.
Where a repair is not urgent, it is better to complete the notice, inspection and any required approval first, to avoid destroying evidence by repairing the unit on one’s own, or causing the party who may be responsible to lose the chance to inspect and carry out the repair.
What to Agree Before Renting Out
| Item | What to Spell Out |
|---|---|
| Reporting repairs | Contact person, photo and information requirements, how to reach someone in an emergency |
| Routine maintenance | Which equipment the tenant maintains regularly, and whether receipts must be kept |
| Approving repairs | Which work needs the landlord’s consent first, and how much a managing agent can approve on its own |
| Access for inspection | How notice, timing and entry to the unit are arranged under the lease and the law |
| Settling costs | How upfront payment, confirmation of responsibility and receipts are handled |
Lease terms should be consistent with the property’s management rules and legal requirements. A landlord or managing agent should not treat holding a spare key as grounds for entering the unit at any time for any repair.
Common Misunderstandings
“If something breaks while the tenant is living there, the tenant must pay for it.”
It still needs to be established whether the cause is natural wear and tear, a pre-existing issue, a lack of agreed maintenance, or misuse, before deciding the matter under the lease and the law.
“A ceiling leak always means the upstairs owner pays.”
The source of the leak and which pipe it belongs to should be checked first; where necessary, responsibility is confirmed through Form 28 and the dispute procedure.
“Deduct it from the deposit first, argue about responsibility later.”
A deduction needs a basis in the lease and evidence of both responsibility and amount; not every repair can simply be converted into a cost the tenant must pay.
What to Do Next
Landlords who have not yet rented out their unit should first complete an equipment inventory and handover record, then put the maintenance and repair-reporting arrangements into the lease.
Anyone already dealing with a fault should first judge whether it is urgent and whether it may involve common property, and notify the relevant parties at the same time. After obtaining the cause and a quotation, the next steps are to confirm approval, payment and any recovery of costs. Specific responsibility still needs to be confirmed against the evidence and the formal documents.
FAQ
Q1: Who is usually responsible for a broken air conditioner?
Check the lease, the maintenance record and the cause of the fault first. Cleaning, normal wear on parts and misuse may be divided differently between landlord and tenant, and no single rule covers every case.
Q2: If a leak occurs inside the unit, can the management body still be responsible?
Yes, it is possible. What matters is where the leak comes from, what the pipe is used for, who the common property belongs to, and the applicable liability; a leak occurring inside the unit is not, by itself, enough to decide the matter.
Q3: Can a landlord let a managing agent decide on all repairs?
This can be set out in the management agreement, but the amount, emergency situations and notice requirements should be clearly stated. Where common property or a third party’s responsibility is involved, the applicable procedure must still be followed.
Disclaimer
This article is general information about rental and repair matters and does not constitute legal, engineering or safety assessment advice. Specific responsibility should be confirmed according to the cause, the lease, the property documents and the applicable law. Information checked as of October 6, 2026.
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Sources
- Strata Management (Maintenance and Management) Regulations 2015: Sections 55–64 on the inter-floor leak procedure, Form 28, and the Third Schedule (official version published by Perbadanan Putrajaya / Putrajaya Corporation) — https://www.ppj.gov.my/storage/akta318/572/572.pdf
- KPKT — Strata Management Act 2013 and its subsidiary regulations: responsibility for the maintenance and management of common property — https://ehome.kpkt.gov.my/index.php/pages/view/734?mid=478
