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Conviction •

That’s not my dog’s poo: How a R250 fine sparked a fight for fairness in a Cape Town block

You can’t fine someone without evidence. That’s the clear warning from the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS), following a ruling in a dispute that started with a pile of poo and ended with a powerful reminder about legal accountability in community schemes.  The case involved Kobi Baribi, a Sea Point landlord who owns a unit in Victory Court, a sectional title scheme in Fish Hoek. He was slapped with a R250 fine after building management accused his tenant’s dog of soiling the common area....
Conviction •

Expert advice: Avoiding legal duplication in sectional title levy recovery

Dear Conviction, 

I read your article on arrears in a body corporate and have a question about the implications of pursuing a matter in both court and Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) simultaneously. 

My neighbour is in arrears, and the body corporate has initiated both a court case and a CSOS dispute against him at the same time. While I understand the need for the body corporate to recover outstanding levies, I believe taking the matter to court unnecessarily wastes funds when CSOS off...
Conviction •

Irregular levy increases, mismanagement, and legal threats in a sectional title scheme

Dear Conviction, 

I purchased a property in 2010, and at the time, the monthly levy was R960. The complex was managed by a resident who also owned a unit in the complex. 

Two years later, that person sold their unit, and the trustees appointed the new owner as the managing agent. Some of us objected to this decision, but unfortunately, we were outvoted—only four of us were against it. 

The new managing agent then increased the levies to R1,960, stating that the reason for the increase was the...
Conviction •

Law expert Ashwini Singh provides insights on claiming costs from a body corporate

Dear Conviction, 

If a body corporate incurs damages of a financial nature, can I claim the costs from them? As in, if I must take the body corporate to court over their failure to follow their own rules and it is costing me money. 

Ashwini Singh provides the following insight:  

It really comes down to what the costs were. Before approaching a court, it is important to consult the Community Schemes Ombud Service to find out whether the issue falls within their ambit of adjudication.  

If it...
Everything Property •

Sectional title trustees can face consequences for breaching scheme rules

Law academic Ashwini Singh shares that it is the priority of a sectional title scheme’s trustees to serve their body corporate and not their self-interests. Trustees have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of a body corporate, however, there have been instances when trustees regrettably breach the very rules of the scheme that they are supposed to be upholding.
WORDS & PHOTO: ASHWINI SINGH
Rules apply equally to all owners and occupiers in a scheme, and the reality is that no owner no...
Conviction •

Legal alert: Why duplicate community scheme disputes are rejected in South Africa

Dear Conviction, 

There is a dispute in my complex involving the body corporate, and it is in court. The trustees took the same case to the Community Schemes Ombud Service, and now there are two cases about the same dispute. 

I do not know much about law, but is it not redundant to have the same issue before two different legal forums? Would that not cause double the lawyer costs? What if one places rules differently from the other? 

Ashwini Singh provides the following insight: 

The Communi...
Conviction •

Navigating sectional title disputes: Choosing between ombud and court

Dear Conviction  I was wondering if you could advise me on a sectional title matter. I have a dispute in my complex, and I have heard that I can escalate it to the Community Schemes Ombud Service.  However, I also read that the same dispute can be taken to court. My question is: how do I know if the dispute falls under the Ombud’s jurisdiction or if it should go to court? I am asking because I understand that the Ombud does not allow legal representation.  Ashwini Singh provides the following in...
Conviction •

Noisy neighbour running business: What are your rights in sectional title schemes?

I live in a townhouse complex in Johannesburg. I have a problem with my neighbour who runs a business that seemingly involves virtual lectures. I have no problem with this, but the issue is the noise. I can hear everything and may as well be part of his class. 
On two occasions I have approached him, and he apologised, but only to do the same thing again. Do I call the police, report to the body corporate? 
Ashwini Singh advises: 
You would have to report the noise to the trustees of your body c...
The International Journal for Crime, Law, and AI •

Artificial Intelligence in the Courtroom: A Marvel or a Menace?

“Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” have undoubtedly become international catchphrases in the late 2010s and early 2020s. With the concept formerly conceived in the 1950s (Reiling 2020, p.2), AI is widely understood as the utilisation of technology to automate tasks that traditionally require human intelligence (Surden 2019, p.1307). Dr Dory Reiling (2020, p.2), a former senior judge of the Amsterdam court, defines intelligence as...
Conviction •

Making sectional title rules that work: A practical guide

Sectional title schemes are like little cities. While cities have by-laws, sectional title schemes have rules which are divided into two categories: management rules and conduct rules.

Management rules

As the name suggests, management rules relate to the management of a scheme. These rules can come in the form of Prescribed Management Rules as described under the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Regulations, or as established specifically for a scheme in terms of subsection 10(2)(a) of the...
Conviction •

When the law is broken: The consequences of ignoring rules in your complex

There are many unit owners who don’t follow the law; some trustees even. At my complex, there’s a trustee who gave himself permission to keep a dog (we are a no pets area). But no one wants to do anything because he a doctor.


Ashwini Singh Advises:


If the dog is affecting you (ie it keeps entering your section/Exclusive Use Area), then you can approach the Community Schemes Ombud Service for an order against the owner prohibiting the dog from entering your section or Exclusive Use Area. If...
SowetanLIVE •

Rules for a reason

Eyebrows were raised when a Durban-based ethics researcher refused to recuse himself as a trustee in the body corporate he served when he had a conflict of interest in a matter being considered.The trustee, who used his profession as an ethics researcher to rationalise his unethical actions, continued to be involved in decision-making within the body corporate despite his personal interests. This begs the question: can trustees influence decisions in which they have a conflict of interest?The an...
SlideShare •

Understanding South African High Court Judgments

Understanding South African High Court Judgments –
Case cited:
IN THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
KWAZULU-NATAL LOCAL DIVISION, DURBAN
Reportable
CASE NUMBER: 2629/2017
In the matter between:
OLIVE MARKETING CC Plaintiff
and
EDEN CRESCENT SHARE BLOCK LIMITED First Defendant
ETHEKWINI MUNICIPALITY Second Defendant
and
SHEPSTONE AND WYLIE First Third Party
ANTHONY MAURICE SCOTT Second Third Party
GEOFFREY NORMAN OLDFIELD Third Third Party
DARRYL MARTIN SCHOU Fourth Third Party
JONATHAN NEIL BERGER...
Conviction •

Protection order among the consequences of trespassing in an 'Exclusive Use Area'

With many South Africans opting to reside within community schemes for the purposes of safety, one of the most popular types of residential schemes are sectional title developments. Stemming from these complexes is a recurring dispute: Exclusive Use Areas (better known as “EUAs”).

An Exclusive Use Area is as the name denotes – an area by which an owner holds the exclusive right to use and enjoy, to the exclusion of the other members of the scheme. EUAs can come in the form of garden areas, cour...
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