A sectional title scheme has two components: sections and common property.
Sections are owned by one or more persons. Common property is that part of a scheme that does not consist of sections but is owned by all the owners of the sections in undivided shares determined in accordance with each owner’s participation quota.
Common property may be divided into two categories: that in respect of which all owners have unrestricted use of and access to, and that which specific owners have the exclusive use of. The latter portions of the common property are known as exclusive use areas (EUAS).
The Sectional Titles Act obliges the body corporate to maintain a scheme’s common property. As EUAS are part of the common property, these areas are part of that obligation. An owner’s obligation in this regard is limited to keeping their EUA neat, clean and tidy.
Who bears the cost of the maintenance?
The Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act obliges a body corporate to charge the holder of an EUA a levy to cover the costs associated with the maintenance and repair of their EUA. A body corporate may pass the required resolution amending the scheme’s management rules, making owners directly responsible for those costs. In such a situation, the body corporate cannot also charge levies for the EUAS.
A body corporate may enter into agreements with owners regarding the liability for maintenance costs. These agreements will, however, not be binding on an owner’s successors in title until recorded in the scheme’s management rules.