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. The Big Small Firm stbb.co.za Commercial Law | Conveyancing | Development Law | Labour Law | Estates | Family Law | Litigation | Personal Injuries & Third Party Claims Cape Town Claremont Fish Hoek Helderberg T: 021 406 9100 T: 021 673 4700 T: 021 784 1580 T: 021 850 6400 Blouberg Tyger Valley Illovo Fourways T: 021 521 4000 T: 021 943 3800 T: 011 219 6200 T: 010 001 2632 Centurion Bedfordview East London T: 012 001 1546 T: 011 453 0577 T: 043 721 1234