Sectional Titles

Paddocks Press – December 07

Paddocks Press is an ad hoc free digital newsletter published to educate and update the sectional title community. The current issue (Volume 2, Issue 9) has a number of articles of interest, including:

How to save on insurance premiums - Andre De Waal stresses the complexities of insuring a sectional title complex and the concomitant need to find an insurance broker who knows the requirements of the Sectional Titles Act with regard to insurance. Interestingly the biggest cause of claims submitted arises from faulty geysers. He gives some useful advice in avoiding or minimising problems caused by geysers.

Sectional plans and building plans; What is the difference and what are the pitfalls? - Rob Paddock. All building plans for the alteration or erection of new buildings have to be approved by the local authority. A Sectional plan depicts the legal layout of a proposed sectional title scheme, and in terms of section 7(2) of the Sectional Titles Act it must be accompanied by a certificate issued by an architect or a land surveyor stating that it complies with the requisite town planning schemes, plans or conditions subject to which the development was approved. That said, local authorities have had to deal with a number of issues arising from discrepancies between the building plans and the sectional plans.

The case studies given reflect this, such as "Extension of a scheme by stealth" and "Exclusive use in contravention of sectional title conditions". The most important lesson to be learnt from these is that one must be as familiar with the approved building plans as one is with the sectional plan.

Maintenance of and improvements to the common property Judith van der Walt discusses the difference between what constitutes the maintenance of common property (painting, cleaning, servicing) and the improvement thereof. Improvements go beyond maintenance and examples include building a wall around the scheme or installing an electric fence.

Q & A with the Professor - Professor Graham Paddock answers the following questions:

  1. Does a change in the method of calculating levies have to be registered at the Deeds Office?
  2. Can the trustees disable the remote control feature of a pedestrian access?
  3. Can the trustees lease a portion of the common property to a cellular telephone service provider?
  4. How to borrow money to finance scheme maintenance?

Paddocks Press Vol 2, Issue 9

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