MITIGATING MAINTENANCE COST OVERRUNS IN NON-STRATIFIED GATED AND GUARDED COMMUNITY (GACOS) DEVELOPMENT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v24i43.2112Keywords:
Cost Overruns, Gated and Guarded Community (GACOS), Maintenance, Non-Stratified, StrategiesAbstract
Maintenance cost overruns have become a significant challenge in non-stratified Gated and Guarded Community (GACOS) housing scheme in Malaysia, leading to financial strain on property owners and affecting the overall performance and longevity of buildings. In contrast to stratified developments where maintenance costs are managed through a maintenance account fund and a formal management body governed under the Strata Title Act 1985 (Act 318) and Strata Management Act 2013 (Act 757), non-stratified properties including GACOS often lack a structured approach to ensure sufficient financial planning and cost control. In addition to the absence of legal frameworks that govern maintenance and management of the non-stratified properties, a clear strategy to overcome cost overruns in GACOS has also not received adequate attention in existing research. Therefore, this paper attempts to explore key factors contributing to maintenance cost overruns in non-stratified developments and propose practical solutions to mitigate these issues. Two focus group discussions with 13 and 16 participants in each group were conducted to examine stakeholders’ perspectives regarding root causes of cost overruns and recommendations to prevent maintenance cost overruns for GACOS. The findings demonstrated that cost overruns in GACOS were exacerbated following to the absence of legislative frameworks, financial management problem, and ineffective maintenance practices. The paper ends with the conclusion that handover the facilities and infrastructure to local authority, long term strategic and saving planning, fund raising, active participation and collaboration, structured in-house teams, and termination of redundant facilities could improve overall cost efficiency. This research contributes to the limited body of knowledge on the long-term management of non-stratified GACOS by foregrounding resident-driven strategies that enable financial resilience and operational sustainability.
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