Sectional Title Units: Who pays for maintenance and repairs?

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BUSINESS NEWS - We often receive queries from clients regarding the maintenance and repair of sectional title units and who’s responsible to pay for what.

The short answer in terms of the Sectional Title Management Act is that it is the body corporate’s responsibility to maintain all the common property and to keep it in a state of good and serviceable repair whilst owners must repair and maintain his or her section in a state of good repair.

The common property includes the outer shell, wall, roof, door, window of the building that forms a boundary between a section and the common property.

The Sectional Titles Act refers to a “median line” to determine the boundary between two sections or a section and the common property. In short, the median line means the middle of a wall, floor or ceiling, the roof is common property. Accordingly, responsibility for repairs and maintenance will depend on what side of the median line requires maintenance or repair work.If a leaking bath on the first floor causes damage to an owner below, the owner of the upper level unit must have the bath repaired and take responsibility for damages caused on the level below. Likewise, if a leaking roof causes damage to sections, the body corporate must repair the roof. Maintenance and repairs to windows and doors in exterior walls however should be treated as 50/50 responsibility between owners and the body corporate.

For more information kindly contact any of our Conveyancers, Jaco Fourie, Maryke Landman or Paul Delport at office@rgprok.com or 044 601 9900. www.rgprok.co.za

For more information kindly contact our Conveyancer Mayrke Landman at office@rgprok.com or 044 601 9900. www.rgprok.co.za