Can JMB Ban Airbnb Short-Term Rentals in Condos Malaysia 2026?

Can JMB Ban Airbnb Short-Term Rentals in Condos Malaysia 2026?

Yes. A joint management body (JMB) or management corporation (MC) can ban Airbnb-style short-term rentals in its building by passing an additional by-law at a general meeting. The Federal Court confirmed this in 2020 in Innab Salil & Ors v Verve Suites Mont' Kiara Management Corporation. Some operators assume a commercial-titled serviced apartment is safe. The ban in that case was upheld on commercial-category land.

This guide is the meeting-room playbook, for residents who want a ban and owners who oppose one:

• how a valid ban is passed, step by step, under the Strata Management Act 2013 (SMA);
• what the RM200 fine cap really allows;
• how a ban is enforced;
• how an owner can challenge one at the Strata Management Tribunal.

For the wider rules on hosting (national STRA guidelines, tourism tax, Penang licensing), see our Airbnb and short-term rental regulations guide. Every statutory point below was checked against the text of the SMA 2013, the Federal Court judgment and published summaries of the Court of Appeal ruling on 1 Oct 2026.

At a Glance: Strata Title Classification & Airbnb Legal Matrix

Serviced residences, usually built on commercial-category land, are a large share of the rental market that such bans affect. In Kuala Lumpur, 54% of high-rise rental listings are serviced residences (1,466 of 2,713 condominium, serviced residence, apartment and flat rent listings, SuperHomes, dated Dec 2025 to Mar 2026, de-duplicated). Browse KL City Centre or Mont Kiara listings to see the mix.

1. Landmark Federal Court Ruling (Innab Salil Case)

The facts.

1. The building. Verve Suites in Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, is a serviced-apartment development. Its land is in the "Building" category, with an express condition for commercial building use.

2. The circular (18 Nov 2015). The Commissioner of Buildings for Kuala Lumpur (COBKL) issued a circular telling JMBs and MCs to curb short-term rentals.

3. The vote (25 Mar 2017). At an extraordinary general meeting, the MC passed House Rule No. 3 by 96 votes to 4.

4. What the rule banned:

   • using units for anything other than service suites, including short-term rentals, naming bookings through Airbnb, booking.com, agoda.com and klsuites.com;
   • stays without a stamped tenancy agreement filed with management;
   • tenancies that allow the tenant to sublet.

   It set a penalty of RM200 for each day a breach continued, and reserved the right to deactivate access cards. The courts later struck out the daily penalty (see below).

5. Notices and fines. Residents were notified on 20 Apr and 21 Aug 2017. The MC fined the defendant owners and operators by invoices dated 6 Jul and 4 Aug 2017.

The litigation. Some owners challenged the rule at the Strata Management Tribunal and lost. The MC then sued in the High Court to enforce the rule and won. The Court of Appeal upheld the ban but not the daily fine. It held that the SMA allows a fine of RM200 for a breach of the by-laws, but does not provide for a RM200 fine for each day the breach continues, so that part of the rule could not stand (Innab Salil & Ors v Verve Suites Mont' Kiara Management Corporation [2020] 3 CLJ 480). The owners appealed further on the ban itself. The Federal Court dismissed their appeal with costs. The panel was Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat CJ, Rohana Yusuf PCA and Mohd Zawawi Salleh FCJ.

What the Federal Court held:

1. Question 1: can house rules ban short-term rentals despite a "commercial building" land condition? Yes. The land-use condition did not stop the MC from regulating how parcels are used for the good of the strata community under s.70(2).
2. Question 2: does the ban breach s.70(5)(a)? No. That section stops by-laws from prohibiting or restricting "the transfer, lease or charge of, or any other dealing with" a parcel. Short-term rentals booked online are licences, not tenancies, so they are not a "dealing" under the National Land Code. The court answered on that basis: "to the extent that the said short-term rentals amount to licences and not tenancies".

(Source: Innab Salil & Ors v Verve Suites Mont' Kiara Management Corporation, Federal Court Civil Appeal No. 02(i)-74-10/2019(W), [2020] MLJU 1563, also reported as [2020] 1 LNS 1131; checked 30 Sep 2026.)

What the case did not decide: whether a building can ban ordinary long-term tenancies or room rentals. Section 70(5)(a) protects leases and tenancies, so a ban reaching them is on much weaker ground. The Federal Court was not asked about the fine, so the Court of Appeal's ruling against a daily fine stands.

2. JMB Fine Enforcement & Daily Calculation Formula

The cap. An additional by-law may impose a "fine not exceeding two hundred ringgit against any proprietor, occupant or invitee who is in breach of any of the by-laws" (SMA s.32(3)(i) for a JMB, s.70(2)(i) for an MC). That is the only fine power the Act gives, and it does not say "per day". In the Verve Suites case the Court of Appeal held that the Act does not allow a building to charge RM200 for each day of a continuing breach, and struck out that part of Verve's rule ([2020] 3 CLJ 480). "RM200 a day" is neither a statutory rate nor a lawful by-law fine.

Worked example. Take an owner who keeps hosting after a valid ban, with 20 booked nights across 6 separate bookings in one month.

Fines are not the main weapon. Compared with nightly income, even RM1,200 may not deter a busy operator. The stronger tools are:

1. An injunction. The JMB/MC, or any owner, can apply to the Tribunal or a court for an order to enforce the by-law or restrain the breach (SMA ss.32(7), 70(7)). Verve Suites won injunctions in the High Court.
2. A Tribunal award. Failing to comply with a Strata Management Tribunal award is a criminal offence. The penalty is a fine up to RM250,000, up to three years' jail, or both, plus up to RM5,000 a day for a continuing offence (SMA s.123).
3. Access control under the by-laws. The Verve rule reserved the right to deactivate access cards for units in breach, and the courts upheld the ban (apart from the daily fine).

Unpaid money and voting. An owner cannot vote at a general meeting if, on the seventh day before it, any Charges, sinking fund contribution "or any other money due and payable" to the MC for their parcel are in arrears (SMA Second Schedule, para 21(2); the Second Schedule applies to JMBs with modifications under s.22(2)). Whether an unpaid by-law fine counts as "money due and payable" has not been clearly decided. Buildings that bill fines as a debt will argue that it does. The Act has no rule that an unpaid fine blocks a sale or title transfer.

3. How a JMB Passes a Valid Airbnb Ban Bylaw

A ban that is passed carelessly can be nullified. Follow the steps in order.

1. Draft the by-law precisely. Define "short-term rental" by what can be proved: bookings through named platforms, stays under a set number of months, or stays without a stamped tenancy agreement filed with management. Verve Suites used all three. Do not ban ordinary tenancies, because s.70(5)(a) protects them. Set any fine within the RM200 cap.
2. Put it on the agenda. The committee can table it. Any owner can also require a motion to be added by written notice deposited at least 7 days before the meeting (Second Schedule, para 13). If the committee will not call a meeting, owners holding at least one-quarter of the aggregate share units can requisition an EGM. It must then be held within six weeks (para 11).
3. Give 21 days' notice. The Act's general rule is at least 14 days' notice of a general meeting (para 12(1)). A special resolution needs at least 21 days' notice specifying the proposed resolution (s.2). Use 21 days. The notice must also state each proposed resolution and tell owners they may vote in person or by proxy (para 12(2)).
4. Check who can vote. Post the list of owners entitled to vote on the notice board at least 48 hours before the meeting (para 14). Owners in arrears on the seventh day before the meeting cannot vote (para 21(2)).
5. Handle proxies correctly. Proxy forms must be deposited at least 48 hours before the meeting, or the proxy cannot vote. A person can act as proxy for only one owner at a meeting (para 18).
6. Reach the quorum. The quorum is one-half of the owners entitled to vote, present in person or by proxy. If there is no quorum within 30 minutes, the owners present form the quorum (para 15).
7. Vote. Voting is by show of hands, with one vote per parcel, unless an owner or proxy demands a poll. On a poll, votes are counted by share units (paras 17 and 21(1)). The resolution passes with at least three-quarters of the valid votes cast (s.2).
8. File it. A JMB files a certified copy of the by-law with the Commissioner of Buildings within 14 days, an MC within 30 days (ss.32(6), 70(6)). Display the resolution and minutes on the notice board within the Second Schedule deadlines, and then notify residents in writing.

(Source for steps 2–7: SMA 2013, Second Schedule, paras 11–18 and 21; checked 30 Sep 2026.)

Worked example: will the ban pass? Take a hypothetical building with 400 parcels. 20 owners are in arrears on the seventh day before the meeting, so 380 are entitled to vote and the quorum is 190.

Once a poll is demanded, the poll result is the resolution of the meeting (para 17(5)). Owners of larger units with more share units can therefore swing a close vote. Our reading, based on the "valid votes cast" wording in s.2, is that abstentions are not counted as votes cast.

Penang note. Since 1 August 2026, Penang Island City Council (MBPP) does not license short-term stays in any strata residential property, and strata buildings in Penang remain subject to their own MC house rules. A council licence never overrides a valid by-law ban. See our Airbnb regulations guide for the details.

4. How an Owner Can Challenge or Respond to a Ban

Only an owner who ignores a ban gets fined. An owner who challenges it properly can have it struck down, if there are grounds.

Grounds that can work:

• Procedure. Less than 21 days' notice of the special resolution, an invalid proxy count, eligible owners wrongly barred from voting, or a vote short of three-quarters.
• Scope. The by-law reaches genuine tenancies or restricts a sale, lease or charge, contrary to s.70(5)(a).
• The fine exceeds the Act. The fine goes beyond the RM200 cap, for example a fine charged for each day a breach continues, which the Court of Appeal held the SMA does not allow.
• Fairness. The Tribunal can revoke an amendment of by-laws "having regard to the interests of all the parcel owners".

Grounds that will not work:

• that the land is commercial;
• that the platform booking is a "tenancy". The Federal Court rejected both.

What the Strata Management Tribunal can order. Any owner can file a claim (s.107). The Tribunal hears claims up to RM250,000 (s.105). The disputes it can hear include claims to:

• invalidate the proceedings of a meeting that broke the Act;
• nullify a resolution where voting rights were denied or due notice was not given;
• nullify a resolution;
• revoke an amendment of by-laws;
• set aside or vary additional by-laws in whole or in part.

(Source: SMA 2013, Fourth Schedule Parts 1 and 2, items 5–8 and order 4; checked 30 Sep 2026.) The Tribunal must make its award within 60 days of the first hearing day where practicable (s.117(1)). For how a Tribunal claim runs, see our strata dispute and Tribunal guide.

The practical alternative. A valid ban cannot stop you from letting the unit on an ordinary tenancy. For a unit bought for Airbnb, that is the realistic fallback. Price it before you fight a ban you are likely to lose.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Can a JMB or MC legally ban Airbnb in a Malaysian condo?

Yes. Under the Strata Management Act 2013, a JMB (s.32(3)) or MC (s.70(2)) can make additional by-laws by special resolution regulating the use and enjoyment of parcels, including a ban on short-term rentals. In Innab Salil & Ors v Verve Suites Mont' Kiara Management Corporation (5 Oct 2020), the Federal Court upheld such a ban.

Q: What case decided that condos can ban Airbnb?

Innab Salil & Ors v Verve Suites Mont' Kiara Management Corporation, Federal Court, 5 October 2020 ([2020] MLJU 1563). Verve Suites' MC passed House Rule No. 3 at an EGM on 25 March 2017 by 96 votes to 4. The court held that the ban was valid even on commercial-category land, and that short-term guests are licensees, not tenants. Earlier in the same case, the Court of Appeal ([2020] 3 CLJ 480) struck out the rule's RM200-a-day fine.

Q: How many votes are needed to pass an Airbnb ban?

A special resolution: at least three-quarters of the valid votes cast at a general meeting called with at least 21 days' notice of the proposed resolution. On a show of hands each parcel has one vote. If a poll is demanded, votes are counted by share units.

Q: Is the fine RM200 per day?

No. The SMA caps a by-law fine at RM200 against a person in breach. Verve Suites' rule charged RM200 for each day a breach continued, and the Court of Appeal struck that part out: the Act does not provide for a daily fine for a continuing breach ([2020] 3 CLJ 480). The stronger enforcement tools are injunctions and Tribunal awards.

Q: Are SOHO and serviced apartments exempt from a JMB Airbnb ban?

No. Verve Suites was a serviced-apartment development on commercial-category land, and the Federal Court upheld its ban. If the building is under the Strata Management Act 2013, its owners can pass a ban.

Q: Can a JMB deactivate access cards for Airbnb guests?

The Verve Suites rule reserved the right to deactivate access cards for units in breach, and the courts upheld the ban, striking out only its daily fine. A card policy should be written into the by-law itself, passed by special resolution, and applied only to units actually in breach.

Q: How can an owner challenge an Airbnb ban?

File a claim at the Strata Management Tribunal (s.107). It can nullify a resolution passed without due notice or with voting rights denied, invalidate meeting proceedings that broke the Act, and set aside or vary additional by-laws. Challenges based on procedure or scope can work. Arguing that the land is commercial or that a platform booking is a tenancy will not.

Q: What can an operator do if a ban passes after buying the unit?

Comply, or challenge the vote if it was not validly passed. A valid ban cannot stop you from selling the unit or letting it on a normal long-term tenancy (s.70(5)(a)), so long-term letting is the usual fallback. Check the building's by-laws and recent general meeting minutes before you buy.

Related Resources

• Airbnb Regulations: Read our AirBnB Short-Term Rental Regulations Malaysia Guide.
• Strata Disputes: Explore Strata Management Disputes & Tribunal Guide.
• JMB vs MC Rules: Learn about JMB vs MC Strata Management Malaysia 2026.