Condo’s residents want to stop repeated en bloc efforts, will seek Prof Jaya’s help
YET another attempt to put Bayshore Park on the en bloc market has been nipped by poor attendance, and residents who are not interested in selling are fed up with the repeated efforts.
They now want to consult Law Minister Prof S Jayakumar - who is also their Member of Parliament (MP) - during a Meet-The-People session.
The meeting on Saturday to form an en bloc sales committee for the East Coast condominium could not proceed as a quorum of 30 per cent was not fulfilled.
This is the second time an attempt to start an en bloc movement in the 1,100 unit Bayshore Park has been thwarted.
Last September, a group called for a meeting to form a committee to sell the estate but had to disband after objection from other residents on legal grounds.
A group of opposing residents had sent a lawyer’s letter to the old committee challenging its constitution and its validity under the amended Land Titles (Strata) Act, tweaked in September last year to improve transparency and balance competing interests.
At least 30 per cent of the 21-year-old estate’s sole proprietors have to be present in order for the extraordinary general meeting (EOGM) to go ahead for any en bloc push to proceed.
Bayshore Park is one of the most prominent properties along the East Coast and developments at the 21-year-old condominium - which is more than 1 million sq ft in size - is keenly watched by marketing agents and developers alike because of its prime seafront location and vast land area.
Saturday’s poor turnout was due to an inconvenient location, said a resident who is a member of the group leading the en bloc charge. Because of space constraints, the meeting was held at Bedok Community Centre instead of inside the estate.
More than 20 per cent of sole proprietors had turned up and some did not make it in time for the 2pm deadline, said the resident, who declined to be named.
Despite the setback, he told Today another meeting would be called within four to six weeks.
Residents against selling their homes were happy that another attempt at en bloc has failed but are concerned that there is nothing to stop another bid to call for an en bloc EOGM.
One resident, who declined to be named, said: “It is clear that the level of interest only belongs to one group of hardcore people who want to sell. But under current laws, it appears that there is no end to it.”
Every time an extraordinary general meeting is called, the estate ends up forking up to $10,000 in postage and logistic charges to host the meeting, he said.
The resident added that those against selling the estate want clarification on how many en bloc EOGMs can be called within a short period of time.
Mr Donald Han, managing director of property consultancy Cushman and Wakefield, said that if pro-en bloc groups repeatedly try despite failures, they will have to work harder on the ground to get more support each time.
“There is nothing to stop them from setting up the general meeting. But if they keep doing it, people might get tired and they might get less support,” said Mr Han.
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