Articles

Geyser Replacement Dispute:PMR 29 stipulates all the rules pertaining to insurance in a complex and specifically PMR 29 (4) whereby owners shall be responsible for any excesses.PMR 68 (vii) goes further to instruct owners to maintain the hot water installation. The Act makes no mention of owners having the responsibility of replacing geysers - only maintaining them (eg. valves, elements).Unless a ... Read more

Duties of owners in Sectional Title Schemes   The duties of Owners in Sectional Title Schemes is clearly laid out in Section 44 of the Sectional Titles Act 95 of 1986 as follows:-   (1)        An owner shall‐   (a)        permit any person authorized in writing by the body corporate, at all reasonable hours on notic... Read more

There has been some debate with the implementation of the new consumer protection act surrounding the popular "voetstoots" clause used in contracts. Some property law commentators have argued that the seller and his agent will no longer be protected by the fact that a defect was not apparent to them at the time of transfer, as the new law stipulates that every member of the ‘supply chain&rs... Read more

Sectional Title has become one of the most popular forms of Ownership throughout South Africa. In practice, we have found that many Owners do not know what their rights and obligations are as an Owner in a Sectional Title Scheme. In a sectional title scheme, trustees are not entitled to make any decisions or rules which conflict with the rules of the Act unless the rules are changed in accordance... Read more

It is often alleged that the trustees of sectional title schemes lack the power to enforce Body Corporate rules. Before embarking down this particular avenue, owners should know the complete scope of the powers of the Managing Agents and the Trustees. Sub-rules (5) and (6) of Rule 31 makes defaulting owners liable for all legal costs involved in the collection of unpaid contributions as well as a... Read more

Although buying into a sectional title scheme offers a certain level of security to a vast majority of safety-conscious South Africans, problems can arise if those buying into this type of investment do not read the fine print of the body corporate rules and ensure that the scheme is in sound financial order. We address this issue more fully in our article entitled “what to know before buyin... Read more

What to look for when buying into a Sectional Title Scheme Many people these days don’t really know what to look for when buying into a Sectional Title scheme. It’s important these days to know exactly what you’re buying into and with who. One of the first things to look at is who the Managing Agents are. The harsh reality is, Managing Agents obtain a reputation for being any o... Read more

   Sectional Title 101  By: Bradley M Berman & Jaclyn M Berman 1.         Introduction             One of the most popular trends in the South African housing market is that of Sectional Title Ownership. Sectional Title allows Owners to be part of a Sectio... Read more

We've spent a lot of time discussing the fundamental aspects involved in Sectional Title Management, but have not previously addressed the question of what exactly Sectional Title is.    There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding regarding the concept of Sectional Title, we detail the concept and consequences of a Sectional Title scheme which all should be understood before buying i... Read more

The National Credit Act, Act 34 of 2005, more popularly known as the colloquial term, "the NCA" became fully operational in South Africa on 1 June 2007. The NCA replaces the Usury Act, 73 of 1968, the Credit Agreements Act, Act 75 of 1980 and the Integration of Usury Laws Act, 57 of 1996, which was the primary legislation governing the granting of credit within the financial services industry sin... Read more