Residential Estate Industry Journal REIJ 6 ARC Journal 2019 | Page 4

FROM THE PRESIDENT Message from the PRESIDENT . . . It is with immense pleasure that we can bring you this, the 6th edition of the Residential Estate Industry Journal, which was launched at the 7th ARC Annual Conference held at San Lameer on the South Coast of KwaZulu- Natal. The Association of Residential Communities (ARC) enters its 11th year of existence, during which we have experienced much change, both negative and positive. Membership of ARC has grown to close to 400 residential communities, and we have developed wonderful partnerships with best-of-breed providers to the residential community industry, and for that we are extremely grateful. I n this edition of the Journal we have reported on some High Court and Supreme Court cases in which the ability and the rights of the HOA to implement their own rules and regulations have been tested. We have also included the birth of the Residential Communities Council (RCC), which will serve the industry as a non-profit company in staying abreast with, challenging, and even recommending legislation that would serve the best interests of the residential community industry. The South African chapter of the Community Associations Institute (CAISA) is going strong, and courses were arranged around the country to allow estate managers, staff and service providers the opportunity of gaining professional qualifications and designations within the residential community industry. The annual general meetings of both these organisations were held at the ARC conference in September 2019. During this year, ARC hosted a series of workshops covering important elements of the Companies Act, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the Labour Relations Act and the Protection of Personal Information Act. These workshops were attended by over 150 estate managers, and served as useful insight for them to take back into their communities in order to stay up to date with this important legislation. Over 20 regional chapter meetings took place around the country, and members had the opportunity to network with their peers, and also to learn from industry experts on issues such as sustainability, the environment, fire protection, financial reserve studies, and the future threats facing us in respect of water resources. Huge gratitude must go to the team at Estate Living, who, with ARC, managed to source some extremely insightful speakers to address delegates at these chapter meetings. This edition of the Journal also profiled some member estates, to whom we are thankful for their contribution in making this a valuable resource. I hope that this Journal will take pride of place in reception areas of the offices of HOAs, community centres and clubhouses across the country. Jeff Gilmour 4 INDUSTRY JOURNAL