Condo Management Clamped Your Car? Malaysia's RM200 Strata Parking Rule Explained

Short answer

A condo's management can tow or wheel-clamp without prior notice in the parking situations listed in by-law 25 of the Third Schedule to the Strata Management (Maintenance and Management) Regulations 2015. These include improper parking or obstruction, an unauthorised vehicle on common property, parking outside a designated bay, and using another proprietor's bay.

The clamp-removal charge must not exceed RM200. That is not necessarily the whole bill: the by-law separately allows towing costs and holding charges actually incurred by management. A fine said to arise under an additional parking by-law is a different category. Ask for every amount and legal basis to be itemised.

Quick guide: what to do at the car

1. Photograph the car before it moves: the bay number, lines, wheel position, traffic lane, nearby cars, clamp and relevant signs.
2. Ask for the exact by-law 25 ground, management's photographs or incident log, and an itemised release amount.
3. If you urgently need the car, consider paying under written protest rather than cutting the clamp. Keep the original receipt and payment proof. This does not guarantee a refund.
4. Dispute it in writing with the developer, JMB, management corporation or subsidiary management corporation actually responsible.
5. If that fails, choose the right route: the Commissioner of Buildings (COB) administers the Act and may investigate suspected offences under it; the Strata Management Tribunal can make binding orders within its jurisdiction.

If access creates an immediate medical or safety risk, deal with that first and obtain urgent advice. Avoid confrontation or damaging the clamp.

When can management clamp without warning?

By-law 25(1) says a vehicle must be properly parked in its designated bay without obstructing an adjacent vehicle or traffic flow. An improperly parked vehicle may be towed or wheel-clamped at the owner's cost without prior notice.

By-law 25(2) also covers:

• an unauthorised vehicle on common property;
• a vehicle outside a designated parking bay; or
• a vehicle in another proprietor's bay.

No warning sticker is required where those conditions are met. But by-law 25 is tied to listed facts; it is not a power to clamp for any reason. If your car was fully inside its allocated bay, caused no obstruction and was authorised, ask management to identify the exact ground.

The Third Schedule applies across the usual management stages. Here, “management” means the developer, JMB, management corporation or subsidiary management corporation responsible at the time. Name that body in your complaint.

Separate the charge, actual costs and any fine

An unexplained RM350 “clamp fee” is not the same as a RM200 clamp-removal charge plus documented towing or holding cost. Management should not simply rename part of a clamp fee as a fine without identifying the rule, the applicable Commissioner's approval or special resolution, and the filing record.

By-law 25 also says management is not liable for damage or loss caused by towing or clamping in the covered situations. Its scope may be disputed. Photograph damage before movement, report it and obtain the operator's records and a repair assessment. Do not assume every claim is barred or compensation is automatic.

Is an extra house rule enough?

Not by itself. Before the management corporation exists, section 32 of the Strata Management Act 2013 allows additional parking by-laws. A developer needs the COB's approval; a JMB must use a special resolution. The rule must not be inconsistent with the prescribed by-laws, and a certified copy must be filed with the COB within the period stated in section 32.

After the management corporation exists, section 70 requires a special resolution, consistency with the prescribed by-laws, and filing of a certified copy under seal with the COB within 30 days.

Where a subsidiary management corporation manages limited common property, section 71 says the management corporation's by-laws apply there unless they are expressly amended through that section. The subsidiary management corporation may, by special resolution, make or amend a consistent additional by-law concerning only its limited common property. It must file a sealed certified copy with the COB within 30 days of passing the special resolution.

For a separate fine, be precise about the responsible body. Section 32(3)(i) expressly lets a JMB's additional by-law impose a fine of up to RM200, while section 70(2)(i) gives an MC the corresponding express power. Those are the two express fine provisions relied on here; the fine is not the by-law 25 clamp-removal charge.

For additional by-laws under section 32 or 70, a parcel owner or proprietor—or a person duly authorised to apply on their behalf—may apply in writing for a copy at reasonable cost. Another person must satisfy the relevant management body that they have a proper interest before inspecting the by-laws. A visitor should not assume a right to a copy or to the approval, resolution or filing records.

That is why a parking rule, a by-law fine and the specific by-law 25 clamping power should not be blurred together. These sections do not safely answer every question about unusual wording in a building's rule. Ask for the current by-law, the applicable Commissioner's approval or special resolution, and the filing record—not only a WhatsApp message, unsigned notice or “committee policy”.

Two clamps, different evidence

The following are hypothetical examples.

Amir's visitor: The visitor parks beside the full marked bays. Photographs show the car narrowing the exit lane, and the receipt identifies a RM200 clamp-removal charge. No prior sticker was required if by-law 25(1) or (2) applied. Management has a recognisable ground and evidence, though Amir may check both.

Mei's car: Mei is inside her allocated bay and blocks nobody. The office demands an unexplained RM350 “clamp fee” under an unsigned notice. She should request the by-law 25 ground, allocation, photographs, itemised receipt and, if relevant, the additional by-law together with the applicable Commissioner's approval or special-resolution and COB filing records. Those documents expose the dispute without predicting the result.

Your evidence pack

Keep:

• scene photographs taken before movement, including bay, lane, clamp and signs;
• the clamp notice, date, time and name or role of the person you dealt with;
• the strata plan, sale document, tenancy term or management allocation showing the bay;
• sticker, visitor-registration and security-message records;
• management's photographs, incident log and stated rule;
• the demand, original receipt, payment proof and any tow or holding invoice;
• the additional by-law, approval or special-resolution record, and COB filing proof; and
• before-release damage photographs and any repair assessment.

Keep a neutral chronology. Do not post faces, number plates, access codes or identity documents online.

A dispute message you can adapt

I dispute the clamping of vehicle [registration] at [place] on [date and time]. Please identify by-law 25(1), by-law 25(2) or the additional by-law relied on, and provide the relevant photographs or incident log. Please itemise the clamp-removal charge, any towing or holding cost actually incurred, and any separate fine. If you rely on an additional by-law, please provide its approval or special-resolution and COB filing record. I paid RM[amount] under protest solely to obtain release. I request [release/refund/documents] by [reasonable date].

Use only true details and remove the payment sentence if it does not apply. Send it through a channel that preserves delivery and date.

COB or Strata Management Tribunal?

Start with the responsible management body. If that fails, the local authority's COB administers the Act and may investigate suspected offences under it. A COB complaint may help with compliance or records, but is not a binding refund award.

The Tribunal can hear Fourth Schedule claims, including disputes about exercising or failing to exercise a function, duty or power under the Act or subsidiary legislation. It may order payment, refund, compensation or damages and deal with additional by-laws within its powers. Its monetary jurisdiction is up to RM250,000. It cannot decide a claim in which title to land or an interest in land is in question.

Purchasers and proprietors can file directly, as can listed management bodies and a managing agent. A tenant, visitor, delivery driver or other affected person may need the Tribunal's leave as an “interested person” first. The eTPS FAQ says to obtain permission and attach it to Form 1.

Operational details checked on 9 September 2026: eTPS identifies Form 1 as the Statement of Claim, allows online filing and payment, and lists a RM100 residential filing fee. Its FAQ says the claimant must serve the sealed Form 1 on the respondent within 14 days from issue and keep proof. Forms, fees, service instructions and portal routes can change, so recheck eTPS immediately before filing. Name the legal body that made or kept the charge and state the exact remedy sought, such as a refund and specified records.

Do not run the same issues between the same parties in the Tribunal and civil court at the same time without advice; section 106 contains a forum-exclusion rule. A real land-title dispute, significant vehicle damage, or uncertainty over the correct claimant or respondent may require individual advice.

FAQ

Can management clamp without prior notice?

Yes, if the facts fall within by-law 25(1) or (2). Management should still identify the ground and supporting facts.

Is RM200 always the total?

No. It caps the by-law 25 clamp-removal charge. Towing and holding costs actually incurred may be added. Any separate fine should be identified and supported separately.

What if I was inside my own bay?

Check the allocation, possible obstruction and vehicle authorisation, and whether an additional by-law is relied on. Painted lines matter, but may not answer every obstruction or authorisation issue.

Can I cut off the clamp?

That risks confrontation, a property-damage claim and loss of evidence. Record the scene and use the release-and-written-dispute route where possible.

Does this apply in Sabah and Sarawak?

No. Act 757 applies only to Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan. This guide does not address Sabah or Sarawak law.

Bottom line

Separate four things: the parking fact, by-law, each amount demanded and remedy needed. By-law 25 gives real no-notice powers in listed situations, but does not turn every house rule or unexplained fee into a valid demand. Preserve the scene, insist on the documents, complain in writing and use the COB or Tribunal route that fits the issue.

Sources

• Attorney General's Chambers / Ministry of Housing and Local Government, Strata Management (Maintenance and Management) Regulations 2015 [P.U. (A) 107]. Regulation 1 and Third Schedule by-laws 1, 2 and 25 support commencement, management-stage application, listed grounds, the RM200 ceiling, actual towing/holding costs and damage-or-loss wording. Official PDF: https://www.kpkt.gov.my/index.php/dl/64584e6c636c38784c303146546b6446546b464a49457451533151765155745551533977645746664d6a41784e5441324d444666554335564c6968424b5638784d4463756347526d
• Attorney General's Chambers, Strata Management Act 2013 [Act 757]. Sections 1, 4, 32, 70, 71, 105–108, 117, 120 and 125 and the Fourth Schedule support territorial scope, COB functions, additional by-laws (including the limited-common-property branch), standing, jurisdiction, remedies and awards. Official PDF: https://lom.agc.gov.my/ilims/upload/portal/akta/outputaktap/20130208_757_BI_AKTA%20757-BI.pdf
• Tribunal Pengurusan Strata, Ministry of Housing and Local Government, eTPS official portal. Current practical source for online filing, claimants, interested-person permission, Form 1, fees and service instructions. Recheck before filing: https://etps.kpkt.gov.my/portal
• Attorney General's Chambers, Act 757 legislation register. Used for the bounded amendment/currentness check; the primary PDFs are original instruments, not labelled current consolidations: https://lom.agc.gov.my/act-detail.php?act=757

Disclaimer

This is general information for strata developments in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan, not legal advice. It does not decide whether a particular bay, obstruction, vehicle authorisation, additional by-law, invoice, damage claim or Tribunal case is valid. The federal primary instruments and official portal were checked on 9 September 2026, subject to the currentness limits in the sources. Obtain the scheme's records, recheck eTPS before acting and seek qualified advice for urgent access, significant loss, disputed title, court proceedings or uncertainty about the correct party or forum.