By the Paddocks Club team

Below are examples of two questions on the Paddocks Club discussion forum. We want to show you what is available to our Community members!

Special general meetings

Member’s question:

Good Day

Can a special general meeting be held with less than 30 days notice if all owners are in agreement.

Anton’s answer:

Hello

If you mean shorter than 30 days notice of a meeting at which a special or unanimous resolution is to be considered, then yes, prescribed management rules 15(7)(a) applies.

If the matter is urgent, is not a special resolution to approve an improvement to the common property that is reasonably necessary or to approve the installation of pre-paid meters, the trustees can call the meeting with as little as 7 days notice.

 

Exclusive use levies

Member’s question:

Dear Paddocks team

A complex does not have a separate levy for their exclusive use area. All the units are the same and they only have one levy.

They have a gardener that attends to the common property and the exclusive use area. One of the owners have now sent a letter to the trustees requesting that her levy be reduced as she is not happy with the gardener and does not want him in her exclusive use area.

How should handle this, as all the other owners seem to be happy with the gardener.

Zerlinda’s answer:

Hello

In terms of section 3(1)(c) of the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act, the body corporate (trustees) must require the owners of sections entitled to the right to the exclusive use of a part/s of common property (registered or rule based) to make an additional contribution to the administrative and reserve funds of the body corporate.

The body corporate, in terms of section 3(1)(l) of the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act, is responsible to maintain and repair the exclusive use areas, but the owner, in terms of section 13(1)(c) of the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act, must keep the exclusive use area in a clean and neat condition.

An owner cannot be excluded from contributing towards a body corporate expenses, unless the process as set out in section 11(2) of the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act is followed.

In your situation, the owner must keep her exclusive use area clean and neat, but she must still contribute towards the expenses associated with the exclusive use area, in the form of an additional contribution


Article reference: Paddocks Press: Volume 12, Issue 11, Page 04.

Professor Graham Paddock, Anton Kelly, Dr Carryn Melissa Durham and Zerlinda van der Merwe are available to answer questions on the Paddocks Club discussion forum for Community members. Get all your questions answered by joining Paddocks Club.

This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution license.

Back to Paddocks Press – November 2017 Edition

3 Comments.

  • David White
    22/11/2017 13:54

    The last paragraph of Zerlinda’s article on Levies on Exclusive Use Area’s does not make sense.
    ” the owner must keep her Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act clean and neat,”
    It should read – “keep her exclusive use area clean and neat,”

    • Paddocks
      22/11/2017 14:37

      Hi David,

      Thank you for bringing it to our attention. We have updated the answer to that question, to match the correct answer as per the Paddocks Club post. Please see above.

      Thank you,
      Paddocks

  • I live on the ground floor of an apartment comprising 5 units – two on the first floor and two on the second floor. The L-shaped garden surrounding my apartment is completely sealed off, each of the two bedrooms opening out onto a a different “leg” of the surrounding garden. The garden area is 4m x 5m on one side and 3,5m x 6 m on the other. One leg is registered as exclusive use; the other as common property. It is not common in nature in any way at all and has been respected as such for 25 years. Now a tenant on the top floor wants to use this area, which invades privacy in the bedroom (1m from the door) and the dining room (1m away). Can I argue for invasion of privacy and request all to be exclusive – and paid for. I have maintained and improved the entire area for 6 years now.