In this guide · 8 sections
- 01BMSMA is now the Building (Strata Management) Act
- 02Virtual and hybrid general meetings: what the law allows
- 03Electronic voting at MCST meetings
- 04Notices, minutes and accounts online
- 05Resident portals and facility booking
- 06CCTV, visitor logs and the PDPA
- 07Do it yourself or get help?
- 08Frequently asked questions
Short answer
MCSTs may hold general meetings in person, hybrid or fully online, and allow electronic voting by people present, if the system counts votes accurately and keeps audit records. Notices may link to online minutes and accounts. Purely electronic notices were still under BCA consultation in 2026.
BMSMA is now the Building (Strata Management) Act
The Strata Titles Boards announced that with effect from 1 October 2025, the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act was renamed the Building (Strata Management) Act. The current text is on Singapore Statutes Online. By-laws, notices and portal pages that still say 'BMSMA' are not wrong in substance, but new documents should use the current name.
The provisions on electronic meetings and voting covered below sit in the First and Second Schedules to the Act, as amended by an order that took effect on 1 July 2023.
Virtual and hybrid general meetings: what the law allows
The Amendment of First and Second Schedules Order 2023 (S 406/2023) made electronic general meetings a permanent option from 1 July 2023.
| Topic | What the rules say | What it means in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting format | Physical place, physical plus virtual technology, or virtual only | Hybrid AGMs are fully allowed |
| Virtual-only limits | Not allowed unless all members who wish to take part have access; not allowed if the MC resolved by ordinary resolution to meet physically or in hybrid form | Check access before choosing virtual-only |
| Notice of meeting | Must describe how to access the meeting online and how to vote electronically | Include the link or platform and voting steps |
| Counting as present | Able to participate, verified by the secretary or an appointed person, acknowledged electronically by the chairperson | Run a verified check-in, not an open link |
| Minutes | Must state that virtual technology was used, which one, and who attended that way | Export the attendance record |
| Proxies | May be emailed to the MC's address stated in the notice, at least 48 hours before the meeting or poll | Publish one proxy email address |
The person convening the meeting must also take reasonable steps to make sure the day, time, place (if any) and type of virtual meeting technology are reasonably convenient to most subsidiary proprietors. For platform choices, our Zoom vs Teams vs Google Meet comparison covers costs and participant limits.
Electronic voting at MCST meetings
Paragraph 5A of the First Schedule, inserted by the 2023 order, allows votes to be cast by electronic means at a meeting held wholly or partly online, but only if all of these conditions are met.
Electronic voting conditions (paragraph 5A)
When choosing an e-voting provider, ask specifically how it meets the audit-record condition: can it export a per-lot voting log with share values and timestamps, and who keeps it? A tool that only shows a live bar chart is not enough.
Notices, minutes and accounts online
The 2023 order also allows a notice of general meeting to include the address of an online location where the latest minutes, or the statement of accounts and auditor's report, are published, instead of enclosing printed copies. A subsidiary proprietor or first mortgagee who asks for a printed copy at least 48 hours before the meeting must be sent one free of charge.
Serving notices purely electronically is a different question. In its public consultation on the Building (Strata Management) Act, which ran from 9 March to 8 April 2026, BCA explained that notices served electronically must currently be followed by a hard copy sent to the proprietor's address, and sought views on allowing purely electronic service where the proprietor has electronic access. Until any change is legislated, keep sending the hard copies.
Resident portals and facility booking
A resident portal usually combines notices, by-laws, booking of facilities, feedback and forms. Planned well, it cuts admin for the managing agent and gives the council a record of what was published when.
- Accounts per unit, verified against the strata roll, so only proprietors and authorised occupants can see estate documents.
- Booking rules enforced in the system: time slots, deposits, cancellation windows and limits per unit, matching your by-laws.
- A dated notice archive, so you can show when each notice and set of minutes was published online.
- Clear ownership: the MCST, not the managing agent or vendor, owns the domain, accounts and data, with a handover clause if the agent changes.
- Minimal personal data: unit number, name and contact details are usually enough.
CCTV, visitor logs and the PDPA
An MCST is an organisation under the PDPA, so the data it collects through portals, CCTV and guardhouse logs is covered.
Publish a privacy notice
Say what the portal, CCTV and visitor log collect, why, who sees it and how long it is kept. Our website privacy policy guide covers the website part.
Put up CCTV notices
Signs at entrances and monitored areas. Our CCTV and PDPA guide covers placement, access requests and retention.
Stop collecting full NRIC numbers from visitors
Under the PDPC's NRIC guidelines, routine visitor registration generally should not collect full NRIC numbers. Use name, phone number, unit visited, or a partial NRIC where justified.
Limit who sees footage and logs
Named council members and managing agent staff only, with a record of who accessed what.
Set retention periods
Delete CCTV footage, visitor records and old booking data on a schedule unless needed for an incident.
Do it yourself or get help?
Off-the-shelf strata management platforms cover many estates' needs, and a council can run a hybrid AGM on a standard video platform with a separate e-voting tool, provided the voting conditions are met. Custom work makes sense when an estate wants its own portal, booking rules that match unusual by-laws, or data kept in its own account.
IT Sorted's Business Website (S$1,490) suits a public estate site with notices and contacts. A Custom Tool or Dashboard (from S$1,990) covers resident portals or booking systems, scoped in writing with a fixed quote and source code owned by the MCST. The PDPA Compliance Pack (S$690) provides the privacy policy, data inventory and breach plan. Legal questions about meetings and resolutions belong with your managing agent or a lawyer.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Since 1 July 2023, general meetings may be held at a physical place, in hybrid form, or using virtual meeting technology only. A virtual-only meeting is not allowed unless all members who wish to participate have access to the technology, or if the management corporation has resolved to meet physically or in hybrid form.
Yes, at meetings held wholly or partly online, if the voter is present, the system counts votes for and against accurately, the system keeps records that allow auditing and verification, and the chairperson declares results during the meeting. Council election results must also be recorded on audio or video.
Not yet as a general rule. BCA's 2026 consultation paper said electronically served notices must currently be followed by a hard copy to the proprietor's address, and asked for views on allowing purely electronic service. Meeting notices can, however, link to online minutes and accounts instead of enclosing printed copies.
Yes, under a new name. From 1 October 2025, the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act was renamed the Building (Strata Management) Act. The rules on meetings, electronic voting and notices discussed here continue under the renamed Act and its Schedules.
Generally it should not collect full NRIC numbers for routine visitor registration. The PDPC's NRIC guidelines allow collection mainly where the law requires it or where identity must be verified to a high degree of fidelity. Name, phone number and unit visited, or a partial NRIC where justified, are the usual alternatives.