This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 3, 2026 - August 9, 2026

Affordable housing tends to carry a negative connotation. When developer Perdana ParkCity Sdn Bhd (ParkCity Group), launched its affordable housing project called Residensi Sofiya at Desa ParkCity in 2017, it was met with concern from residents who feared that the development would impact the property values and environment of the township.

“Previously, a lot of people were afraid that Residensi Sofiya would affect the environment in Desa ParkCity because affordable housing tends to give a bad impression towards the surrounding environment,” says management corporation (MC) chairman Khairil Haffifi Shabudin.

Despite the criticism, Residensi Sofiya has managed to defy the odds as it earned a Gold at The Edge Malaysia Best Managed & Sustainable Property Awards 2026 in the Below 10 Years — Sustainable Affordable Housing category as well as an Editor’s Choice Award for its Excellence in Affordable Homes Management.

Completed in 2019, the 752-unit development was built as Malaysia’s Civil Servants’ Housing Programme (PPAM) scheme. The three-bedroom and two-bathroom units have a built-up of 862 sq ft and were priced at RM300,000. It is currently managed by ParkCity Management Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of ParkCity Group.

How did Residensi Sofiya succeed where many affordable housing developments struggled? Its success is not based on luck. Rather, it is a combination of thoughtful planning by the developer, close collaboration between the property manager and the MC as well as owners who share a common commitment to improve their homes.

From the get-go, Residensi Sofiya had been designed to be integrated seamlessly into Desa ParkCity rather than as a standalone project. Therefore, residents of the project share the same public spaces, parks, walkways and neighbourhood amenities.

“From day one, we wanted Residensi Sofiya to be part of the overall Desa ParkCity community. It cannot be something that’s different from the rest. Our philosophy is that, when you walk into Residensi Sofiya, it must look like any other condominium in Desa ParkCity,” says ParkCity Group group director for township management Sukhdev Singh.

Where there were areas that were lacking, the developer found alternative solutions to fill in the gap. “From ParkCity’s side, there were certain things that we couldn’t put in such as swimming pools. However, the residents can become a member of the clubhouse and use its facilities,” he adds.

Another example is the lift area. Due to the orientation of the building, the lift areas often got wet whenever it rained. The developer then installed glass panels to enclose the area.

A gap in parking spaces was also identified, says Sukhdev. “At the onset, we recognised that parking could be an issue. As the developer, we identified an area that was not being used and made it into an open-air car park. It is now being used by Residensi Sofiya residents. We even looked at the visitor car park — on whether it was well-utilised — and saw the possibility of leasing it to the residents.”

While developers play an important role in creating a quality and liveable environment, the long-term success of a development also depends on residents taking ownership of their homes and contributing to the upkeep of Residensi Sofiya.

Initially, one of the major challenges the property manager faced was helping the new homeowners understand the concept of strata living, as most of them had never lived in a stratified home before, according to Sukhdev.

Therefore, the property manager spent a lot of time educating the residents on their rights, responsibilities and limitations to ease their homeownership journey.

“Before they moved in, they were told about how the vacant possession process works, and the importance of paying service charges. We send circulars out once in a while in three languages so that everybody understands what we are trying to convey. There was a lot of communication between the residents and the management office.”

More importantly, it was about understanding the house rules, says Khairil. “That is the basic thing that they need to follow. We have revised the house rules more than three times to suit our current facilities here. If you have good house rules, it will help you a lot. You don’t have to explain much. As some units are rented out, the tenants may not be familiar with the house rules. For owners, they are already well versed. [But for tenants] we will give them a soft copy of the house rules so that they can have a look.”

Today, Sukhdev says the residents are very well-informed, reflected in its healthy maintenance fee collection of 99% and the residents’ engagement in improving well-being at Residensi Sofiya.

Equally important is the active participation of the MC members as they play a key role in managing the property’s affairs and fostering communication between residents.

“Khairil himself is very committed. He spent one weekend with our building manager and attended a bomba seminar. That’s the level of commitment the MC has as well as working closely with the management office to make sure we are kept abreast of any happenings in the development,” says Sukhdev.

Although the community may appear well-managed, challenges can still arise. At times, proposed revisions to the house rules may not receive unanimous support from the residents.

To minimise disagreements, the property management team engages owners ahead of the annual general meeting (AGM) by briefing them on the matters to be discussed. This allows residents to better understand the rationale behind the proposed changes and provide feedback before any decisions are made.

“The house rules are not changed by the MC. They have to go through the AGM for changes to be made. Owners need to vote on them and once it is set, they need to accept the changes. This is part and parcel of living in Residensi Sofiya,” Sukhdev says.

Khairil says early communication is key to ensuring a smoother AGM process. “We don’t want the owners to come and be agitated during the AGM. So we brief them earlier. For example, when we had our last AGM in September last year, we tried to brief the residents [of any proposed changes] earlier, sometime in May or June, so that they had an idea of what was going to happen. We know we need to brief the owners first, get their input, study the pros and cons and then discuss during the AGM.”

Sukhdev acknowledges that reaching full agreement among residents is not always possible. “We will never get 100% agreement on certain things. That’s okay. You have to work a little bit more to convince them. Even if they don’t agree, everybody has to learn how to agree to disagree and accept what the majority has decided. That’s the way we do it.”

Beyond managing day-to-day matters and facilitating communication between residents, an active MC also plays an important role in continuously improving the living environment after the developer has handed over the property. At Residensi Sofiya, the MC has taken a proactive approach by identifying areas for improvement, from enhancing security and energy efficiency to introducing initiatives that strengthen the sense of community among the residents.

Some of the upgrades made were upgrading common area lighting to ultra-high energy-efficiency systems, implementing automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and facial recognition systems to strengthen security, and using digital monitoring and tracking systems to improve operational efficiency and reduce administrative inefficiencies.

Moving forward, Khairil says the MC plans to implement more CCTVs, work on energy-saving features as well as introduce more community events to foster stronger community spirit between the residents.

“We are looking around to save more electricity bills by doing our next solar project and after this, we are going to tackle more community programmes such as CPR training for the residents. We’re trying to get one of the doctors to come and to give some medical advice to the residents.”

In terms of financial sustainability, the MC has taken a long-term approach in planning for its financial sustainability. This includes optimising energy cost, having a preventive maintenance strategy, integrating technology and implementing budget forecasting.

“It’s long-term thinking. A lot of the maintenance contracts are comprehensive, covering all the way to replacement parts. It’s actually part of our operational cost rather than the sinking fund itself. The major expense, which is about 10 years down the road, would be the repainting of the building. So, we have to ensure that there’s enough funds in the sinking fund,” Sukhdev says.

To ensure that its funds will be sufficient, the MC had raised its maintenance fee recently. “Some people did ask why it was raised. We make sure the owners understand why we need to increase the fee. We mentioned that if we don’t increase it, we cannot sustain ourselves for the next five years. Eventually, the owners voted to increase it because we don’t want negative funds on our side.”

On top of that, the MC has also explored alternative ways to contribute to its maintenance fee. “They have recurring income by renting out a space on the ground floor to convenience store BilaBila Mart,” Sukhdev explains.

Besides the mart, Khairil says the MC is exploring other partnership opportunities with other vendors such as indoor elevator media advertising, self-service laundry services, vending machines and day care centres.

Looking back, Sukhdev says much has changed since Residensi Sofiya was first completed. From a transponder and card access system previously, today, access is afforded by ANPR and facial recognition systems.

He further notes that while its beginnings were received with negativity, Residensi Sofiya has changed that perception. “The reality of it is that it is part of the Desa ParkCity community. It looks like any other condominium here. We have implemented the latest technologies and many of the features that were put in our other condominiums are already included in Residensi Sofiya.”

All of this is thanks to a community of proud owners and efficient property managers who strive to uplift the living environment of Residensi Sofiya.

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