Body Corporate Archives - Ashersons Attorneys

31 Oct 2018

Can I Have Pets in a Residential Complex?

Residential complexes and estates are becoming more and more popular for the many advantages they provide. Remember however that - in everyone’s interests - they also come with restrictions on your freedom to use and enjoy your property, and that you bind yourself to whatever Conduct Rules apply in your community scheme. One of those restrictions is likely to be your right to keep a pet, and that’s a topic that can be a source of much conflict and unhappiness. Residents tend to fall into one of three camps – “I really need to have my little dog/cat/parrot/lizard living with…

01 May 2017

By Andrew Goldschmidt

Collecting Arrear Levies: A New Risk for Your Body Corporate

Levy collections are the life blood of sectional title schemes, and collecting them is likely to get harder with the economic fallout from our downgrade to junk status. So if you own property in a scheme, and particularly if you are a trustee of your body corporate, you need to know about the new SCA (Supreme Court of Appeal) decision in Body Corporate of Empire Gardens v Sithole and Another (240/2016) [2017] ZASCA 28 which puts at risk the body corporate’s right to apply for sequestration of levy defaulters. Why apply for sequestration? Applying for the sequestration of a recalcitrant debtor’s…

28 Oct 2016

By Ashersons Attorneys

All “Community Schemes”: New Rules and a New Ombud You Need to Know About

The Community Schemes Ombud Service Act (“CSOSA”) came into effect on 7 October, together with the related Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act (see previous article). CSOSA applies to all “Community Schemes” (residential, commercial and industrial) including – Sectional title development schemes Home owners associations Property owners associations Share block companies Retirement housing schemes Housing co-operatives Any other “scheme or arrangement in terms of which there is shared use of and responsibility for parts of land and buildings”. Community disputes – a new resolution process If you have lived or worked in any community you will know just how easily disputes…

25 Nov 2015

By Andrew Goldschmidt

Body Corporate vs Nightmare Neighbour: The Court to the Rescue

"His demeanour at this time was highly aggressive, flying his arms about and it was clear to me that he had to prevent himself from lashing out at me physically” (Trustee quoted in judgment below) The irrational, aggressive and disruptive “Nightmare Next Door” owner is regrettably a well-known and much-disliked feature of all too many residential complexes. He or she makes trouble at every opportunity, attacking other owners and the body corporate’s trustees with equal abandon. What can you do about it? In sufficiently serious cases, our courts will come to your rescue, as a recent High Court decision [Body…