MCS Courier – July 08

This month's issue covers the following topics:

Withholding levies legalised?
An unexpected result of Greenacres
Tertius Maree discusses the withholding of levies in the light of the Greenacres decision. It has long been accepted that an owner is not allowed to withhold levy payments for a reason not related to the legality of the levies. In other words, an owner may refuse to pay levies if they had not been properly determined in terms of section 37(2) or the applicable management rules, or if they have been incorrectly calculated. But an owner may not withhold levy payments, for example, because of his dissatisfaction with the performance of the trustees.

However at a recent arbitration in Cape Town it became clear that an unintended consequence of the Greenacres decision is that any court action by trustees to recover levies is effectively blocked, forcing them to initiate arbitration proceedings.

Exclusive rights to a parking bay
Ilse Kotze draws our attention to the fact that owners do not necessarily have rights of exclusive use to parking bays because they purchased them in terms of their offers to purchase. Owners should look through their documentation to see whether they have a title deed (a certificate of a real right or a notarial cession) entitling them to the exclusive use of a parking bay. An owner's title deed to an exclusive use area may be in possession of the bank, if his unit is subject to a mortgage bond. Information pertaining to registered exclusive use areas (parking bays) can also be obtained from the deeds office electronically.

Extension of sections: tips for trustees
Jacques Maree gives tips for trustees so that they might avoid unnecessary costs and frustrations when extending sections in terms of Section 24 of the Sectional Titles Act.

Strafbepalings vir boutydperke wettig?
In this extract from the series DeeltitlelForum, published weekly in Die Burger, Tertius Maree answers a question about the enforceability of fines on owners of erven who do not build within a prescribed period.

Ask the editor
Questions answered here include the enforceability of charging fines in sectional title schemes, and whether trustees can cut water and electricity supply to owners who are behind in their payments.

MCS Courier July 2008