Estate Living Magazine Connection - Issue 43 July 2019 | Page 19
MAINTENANCE IN RESIDENTIAL
SCHEMES: DON’T ASSUME
THERE IS ADEQUATE PROVISION
Owners of homes in residential
schemes know all too well that
neglecting maintenance can
very quickly lead to a general
deterioration in the overall
appearance of the scheme,
culminating in a decrease in
value of the investment, no
matter how well the individual
home is looked after.
Are schemes obliged to have
maintenance plans in place?
To answer this question, it
is important to understand
that housing developments
established as sectional title
schemes are legally-technically
very different from those
developed as homeowners’
associations, despite the fact
that from the outside they
appear and function similarly.
Sectional title schemes are
creatures of statute, governed by
the provisions of the Sectional
Titles Act and the Sectional
Titles Schemes Management
Act. In terms of these
instruments, the trustees of
schemes must prepare and align
upkeep efforts with an obligatory
10-year maintenance plan. houses, roads and so forth) by
providing a budget for current
and future maintenance needs
and making sure these are
attended to.
There is no prescriptive
legislation, similar to those
applicable to sectional title
schemes, for homeowners’
associations. There is also no
prescribed obligation to prepare
and implement maintenance
plans. Owners with homes in
homeowners’ associations
have to revert to the provisions
in the relevant governance
documentation of the
association, to ascertain what
provisions are in place. Usually
the governance documentation
require of owners to maintain
their own properties and
the governing body of the
association (the directors or
trustees) is tasked with providing
for the maintenance needs of
common areas (such as club
house facilities, roads, guard It is prudent however to revise
homeowner’s association
constitutions from time to time
to ensure that they adequately
provide for current, future and
changed maintenance needs of
the association. In addition, in as
far as obligations are imposed
by the Community Schemes
Ombud Act (which applies to
both sectional title schemes and
homeowners’ associations), the
latter’s constitution is aligned
with requirements imposed by
this Act.
Contact STBB’s Property Law
Department on [email protected]
to arrange for an update or
consultation in this regard.
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