Sectional Title South Africa

Portfolio of Evidence
Simon John Smith

1.2 Sectional Title

Sectional title is a form of ownership where a number of people can simultaneously own a piece of land on which a building or buildings is built, while each one of these people individually owns a townhouse or a flat in the building. Each individually owned building is called a section and this forms part of the overall sectional scheme. The remaining portion of the land is called the common property and is owned in undivided shares by each owner. Examples of the common property are;
 Corridors
 Lifts
Certain areas of the common property may be set aside as exclusive use areas for a particular owner examples of these could be;
 Gardens
 Garages
 Carports
All of the owners of units in a sectional title scheme have to pay levies, which goes towards covering the running costs of the scheme. The amount of levy payable by each owner is calculated by using the participation quota. The participation quota is calculated by taking the size of the owners unit (Floor size in SQ meters) and dividing it by the floor surfaces of all the units in the scheme. This participation quota is also used to determine the size of the undivided share the owner has in the common property as well as the weight of their vote at any meetings. All of the above is regulated by the Sectional Title Act (Act 95 of 1986)

1.2.1 Role Players

The role players in a sectional title scheme are;

 Owners (Body Corporate)
 Trustees
 The managing agent
 Developer
 Surveyor
 Conveyancer

Owners (Body Corporate)
The owners of each section who also make up the body corporate play a role in making sure that the complex they live in is well run and is operated accordingly to the provisions of the sectional title act. The body corporate has the obligation to ensure that a budget is drawn up and that the owners all contribute towards the budget (Levies) to ensure that all the financial obligations of the body