For instance, the body corporate can force an owner of a unit to comply with its rules – by application of a High Court interdict if necessary.

Thereof Can a body corporate evict a tenant? No! There is no provision in the Act or the common law which authorizes a body corporate to evict a tenant or an owner.

What is the constitution of a body corporate? The constitution must define the association as a corporate body with its own legal identity which is separate from its individual members and officers and which continues to exist even if its members or officers change. An association which is a body corporate may sue, be sued, and own property in its own name.

Similarly, Can you be blacklisted for not paying levies?

When a tenant defaults on paying their rent, we give them notice that within 20 business days they will be blacklisted with a credit bureau that is linked to ITC. According to the credit bureau the same process may be applied to defaulting owners who do not pay their levies.

What happens if you don’t pay your levies?

The non-payment of levies by owners within a Sectional Title Scheme creates a burden on the Body Corporate or Homeowners Association’s paying members to maintain the common property. This non-payment results in amenities and municipal accounts remaining unpaid.

Can a body corporate impose a fine? However, as per the opinion of a number of well-known attorneys who specialise in sectional title, it is possible for a body corporate to impose legally enforceable fines if the body corporate has properly adopted a carefully drafted rule providing for fining owners and residents.

Can a body corporate screen tenants?

He said bodies corporate had no right to screen tenants because a tenant’s relationship was with the owner or landlord of a unit, not with the body corporate. In law, he said, a tenant could not be denied occupation. Only if a tenant broke the house rules could a body corporate seek eviction.

Do body corporate fees include rates? The fee will include costs like insurance and management expenses (by an external contractor), contributing to a long-term maintenance fund (LTMF) and any services the body corporate arranges for its members (for example, rubbish collection and cleaning communal areas).

How many trustees must a body corporate have?

A body corporate should have a minimum of two trustees in the sectional title scheme, according to the Act. The Act does not limit the number of trustees, so it is possible that all the owners within a scheme could potentially be trustees as well.

Does a sectional title have to have a body corporate? If it’s a Sectional Title scheme, it must have a body corporate. There could be trouble ahead for the owners of duet homes and properties in small sectional title (ST) estates that do not have a functional body corporate and are not being run in terms of the Sectional Title Schemes Management Act (STSMA).

Can levies be backdated? It is important to note that levies may NOT be backdated and that this practise, although occurring frequently, is in contravention with the laws and regulations governing sectional title schemes.

Are levies negotiable? If you own a home, this is a fixed cost that is non-negotiable. Anyone and everyone who lives in an estate will pay estate levies. This is a monthly cost, paid by the property owner, for the general upkeep of the estate.

What does levies include South Africa?

“Firstly, levies cover all costs which relate to the common areas of the scheme. This includes maintenance and repairs for existing recreational facilities, including public pools, clubhouses, parks and gardens, and the structural property of common areas such as walls and passage ways,” he says.

Are levies paid in advance?

Payments of levy accounts are due on the first day of each month, payable in advance as resolved by the trustees.

Can an owner withhold levies? An owner is not entitled to withhold levies to set-off a debt she believes is owed to her by the body corporate. There is no provision in the Sectional Titles Act 95 of 1986 (“the Act”) or the prescribed rules that gives an owner the right to withhold duly raised levies.

Can you negotiate levies? Once a body corporate has approved their administrative budget, the levies become due and payable. Owners do not have the option to negotiate how or when they want to pay their levies. Payment of levies are due on the 1st of the month.

What are my rights as a sectional title owner?

Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act

In their use of the common property, owners must not unreasonably interfere with the rights of others. In addition, they must not use or permit the use of a section or an exclusive use area to cause a nuisance.

Can a body corporate charge legal fees? “A member is liable for and must pay to the body corporate all reasonable legal costs and disbursements, as taxed or agreed by the member, incurred by the body corporate in the collection of arrear contributions or any other arrear amounts due and owing by such member to the body corporate, or in enforcing compliance …

Can you be evicted for not paying levies?

Sectional title schemes cannot just evict an owner for unpaid levies, there is a legal process that will need to take place. However, the legal process required to do this is long, complex, and costly and it doesn’t always work out the way people assume.

Are tenants responsible for levies? * With a rental property, the Levies are usually still paid for by and are the responsibility of the Landlord without reference to the Tenant, unless stated otherwise in the lease.

Is body corporate the same as strata?

Essentially yes. Strata is the same as body corporate. In NSW, the owners of lots within a strata scheme used to be collectively known as the body corporate. The name was changed from body corporate to what it’s now known as, which is owners corporation.

Does a body corporate have to be registered? When another person other than the developer becomes an owner of a unit in the scheme, a body corporate is established for that scheme and it must be registered with the CSOS.

How are body corporate levies calculated?

The calculation of levies is done by using the formula of the participation quota of each unit in a sectional title scheme, in order to determine their contribution towards the repair, upkeep, management, control and administration of the common property.

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