Property 24/10 - 59

Join the Clicks for Bricks Challenge
The South African housing backlog is expected to take another two decades to clear and according to the latest statistics from the President's Coordinating Council, 2.1 million homes are still required for 12 million people. Yet, Habitat for Humanity South Africa maintains that simple, decent, affordable housing is a vital platform for effecting change from one generation to the next for families, communities and South Africa at large.

Property24.com has teamed up with Habitat for Humanity South Africa to launch the Property24 Clicks for Bricks Challenge. To contribute towards building the house, visit facebook.com/property24 and simply click on the "like" button.

To make a contribution towards housing in South Africa and raise awareness around the country's housing shortage, Property24.com has teamed up with Habitat for Humanity South Africa to launch the Property24 Clicks for Bricks Challenge.

For every "like" that Property24.com receives on its Facebook page, facebook.com/property24, R5 will be donated towards the R91 000 cost of building a home. The goal is to achieve 18 200 likes, donate the R91 000 to Habitat for Humanity South Africa, and then invite members of the page to be part of the building team that constructs the actual home. Property24.com will share the challenge's progress with its Facebook community via a fun and interactive application that portrays the construction stages of the home being built as the target draws nearer.
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Illegal estate agents must register
The Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) is urging unregistered estate agents to take advantage of the current amnesty to get their businesses compliant ahead of a crackdown on illegal operators.

The EAAB estimates that as many as one fifth of operating agents may not be compliant.
There are currently more than 39,000 registered agents across SA.

The EAAB estimates that as many as one fifth of operating agents may not be compliant.

"We believe that between 5,000 and 10,000 agents are trading illegally," says EAAB chairperson Thami Bolani.

"We are urging these people to immediately join the regulatory fold and become accepted professional agents."

A few agents have come forward since the amnesty started on April 15 and the EAAB expects numbers to increase towards the July 15 deadline.
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More CPA clarity for property sector
The South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA) has met with Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in an effort to obtain the clarity which the property industry needs with regards to the new Consumer Protection Act (CPA).

The new CPA may have severe implications for landlords, developers and business owners, says CEO of SAPOA Neil Gopal. "SAPOA has identified sections of the CPA, and associated regulations, as having far-reaching changes to lease agreements for immovable property as we know it."

"Our meeting with the DTI has been fruitful and we are to now meet with the National Consumer Council which will now hear our case," he says. In terms of section 96 of the CPA, the National Consumer Commission is the responsible institution for, amongst other things, providing guidance to the public by issuing non-binding opinions on the interpretation of any provision of the CPA.
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Rental terminology simplified
For many first time tenants, entering into a lease agreement is a contractual obligation laced with complicated jargon.
It is important to note that tenants also have the right to cancel a fixed term lease agreement by giving 20 business days notice - but this only applies to leases signed after the 1st April 2011 and the tenant would still be liable to pay a reasonable penalty.
This is a basic Translation Guide for tenants often caught unawares of the language around fine print.
Inception Date: This is the date agreed on by the tenant and landlord when the lease will start and the tenant moves into the property.
Termination Date: This is the date agreed on by the tenant and landlord in advance on when the lease will end and the tenant leaves the property. It is important to note that when there is a fixed term (set time period) for the lease agreement, for example six, 12 or 24 months, the tenant will have to leave the property when that time frame is over. However, at the end of the initial term, the tenant and landlord can renegotiate a further fixed term or agree to a month-to-month lease with a calendar months' notice.
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More single women are landowners
More and more single women are applying for bond finance according to bond origination company ooba.

Higher levels of pay, personal wealth creation and affordable bond repayments have contributed to more single women applying for bonds.

It says that its statistics show that the number of single women applying for bond finance has increased sharply over the past four years.

It says that this could be attributed to the growing number of single women households as well as the growing income levels of employed women in steady jobs.

Apparently women make up 46,94% of the 49,65% of single person home applications. Applications for bonds from couples is at 50,35%.
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Body corporates can raise funds
Trustees of body corporates that fail to maintain communal areas are contravening their responsibilities in terms of the Sectional Title Act according to Propell's Catherine Cockcroft.

"The Section Title Act makes it clear that the body corporate is compelled to maintain the common property can to keep it in a good and serviceable condition," she says.

In terms of the Act, any major maintenance that is required for a sectional title property can be paid for through a special levy raised against the owners in the scheme.

"Where repairs are crucial and have not been budgeted for, such as repairing an elevator, the owners will each have to pay a portion of the costs in a lump sum or the body corporate can allow owners to pay off the amount due in smaller instalments," says Cockcroft.
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Ratepayers in PE turn to High Court
Furious ratepayers in Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) are to turn to the courts in an effort to get the local council to stop wasting money and insist that it keeps pace with service delivery promises.

Chairman of the NMB Ratepayers' Association Kobus Gerber says that rather than impose a rates boycott against the city council, the association had decided to embark on court action and intends taking errant councillors to the High Court in a bid to compel them to stop wasting council funds.

He says the association will make the councillors "accountable in their private capacity" for making bad decisions that waste council funds.

He says, for instance, that the city has 22 000 people living in poor communities who use a bucket system to remove sewerage. However, the council hosted a jazz festival costing R9-million rather than tackle the "real problems facing the city.
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