The role of a trustee can be quite challenging. Dealing with financial issues, maintenance issues, conflict between owners, tenants or trustees may put owners off from being trustees. Add to that the fact that trustees typically do not get paid for the time they invest in the scheme and you understand why some schemes struggle to find owners to volunteer as...
Insurance may seem like a grudge purchase to some but in sectional title schemes it is worth every cent. In addition, the trustees have a fiduciary duty to ensure that the scheme is comprehensively insured and that all compulsory insured perils are covered as required in terms of the Sectional Title Schemes Management Act (STSMA). Let’s consider the various types of...
A body corporate is responsible for the maintenance of the common property of the scheme which includes planned and unforeseen maintenance. Maintenance to water damaged areas tends to raise the question: “Who is responsible for the repairs after a leak has been discovered?” To determine this one needs to establish where the leak originates and what caused the leak. Leaks originating from...
If you are unsure about whether or your trustees are doing a good job of managing the body corporate, there are a few specific areas that you can investigate. In this article, we discuss five of the most important signs of poor body corporate management, namely poor recovery of levies, late or missed AGMs, slow (or no) response to repairs and...
This is a question as old as the profession of property management itself. Some bodies corporate believe that by appointing a managing agent, they are handing over the management of their scheme, pretty much in its entirety, to the managing agent. Managing agents should also be precise about the responsibilities they are taking on as well as those they are not...