While many schemes have their financial year-end in February or June, it will vary from scheme to scheme. Regardless of the month in which the financial year falls, a body corporate must prepare an administrative budget for submission at the annual general meeting (AGM). To do this, the trustees must plan to allow themselves the time to put together an...
While most bodies corporate rely solely on levy income, some try to find additional ways to bolster their income. One additional source is to rent common property to members of the scheme or to third parties. Who decides if common property can be rented? Trustees are responsible to manage, administer and maintain common property which collectively belongs to all scheme members in...
Sectional title terminology can be quite confusing and two terms that often get confused by owners are ‘section’ and ‘unit’. While an apartment can be called either of these two terms, there are distinct differences between a section and a unit. Section A section is indicated on the sectional title plan of the scheme; it is demarcated with a solid line...
There is a lot of talk about the new POPI Act (Protection of Personal Information Act) and the impact it will have on personal information held by third parties. Some sectional title owners may have concerns as to how safe their personal information is with the body corporate or managing agent. What is the POPI Act? The purpose of the POPI Act...
Sectional title developments typically have standardised designs and uniform materials are selected for windows and doors. Although windows and doors are part of a section, they effectively form part of the common property. While the management and maintenance of common property are the trustees’ responsibility, owners are responsible for 50% of the cost to maintain windows and doors. Replacing windows or doors When...