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...

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...

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...

Between a rock and a foul-smelling place

Ashwini Singh

A precarious predicament unfolded in a Durban sectional title scheme recently. Absurdly, a rock was found in the complex’s sewer system, causing a major pipe blockage.

But here is where the real problem arose: a unit owner prevented plumbers from attending to the sewer system by not giving them access to the manhole in his unit where the rock was stuck. Insofar as the complex is concerned, can such selfish actions of a unit owner be entertained in a sectional title scheme setting...

Exclusive Use Area boundaries in sectional title schemes

The concept of exclusive use rights can be complex to navigate in a sectional title scheme. However, not taking the time to understand the boundaries of a scheme’s Exclusive Use Areas can break a body corporate’s bank, writes Ashwini Singh.
WORDS & PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Singh says that, as the name suggests, an Exclusive Use Area (“EUA”) is a part of a sectional title scheme’s common property to which a specific section owner holds the exclusive use right over (to the exclusion of the other owners in...

Residential sectional title schemes are not open for businesses

Sectional title schemes in South Africa are equal parts popular as they are restrictive, writes Ad Hoc Lecturer in law, Ashwini Singh. She says that, with 56 000 schemes registered nationally, they are all bound by the same regulations: one being that owners and occupiers are prohibited from running businesses within their sections in residential schemes.
WORDS & PHOTO: SUPPLIED
The Sectional Titles Schemes Management Regulations (the “STSM Regulations”) create Prescribed Management Rules (“PMRs...