By Ané de Klerk
Over the Summer Holidays you have likely spent more time in your sectional title property than you do when you’re working your nine to five; either because you had the opportunity to relax in your sectional title home or because you got to escape the city and stay in your seaside holiday apartment. Either way, spending more time in these properties usually opens your eyes to needs you did not notice previously. Needs which could likely be addressed in your scheme’s rules. Let’s take a closer look at some things you may have noticed over the past couple of weeks and how your scheme rules could provide for them:
1. Noise nuisance
More down time usually leads to people hosting friends and family more often. While the sounds of a peaceful braai, laughter and kids swimming at your neighbour’s is likely to simply bring a smile to your face, other sounds such as loud music being blared at midnight or an aggressive fight breaking out over a game of 30 Seconds at 2am could amount to noise nuisance.
2. Parking
More visitors usually equates to more parking issues. Did you notice vehicles parked on common property laws or even on the exclusive use parking bays of neighbours? Perhaps you noted that it may be necessary to allocate exclusive use rights over particular parking bays to specific unit owners, thinking “Unit 1’s tenant parks on Visitor Bay 1 permanently – why should all of us foot the bill for its maintenance and insurance?”
3. Bins
While Prescribed Conduct Rule 2 already deals with refuse and waste disposal, perhaps you couldn’t help but notice how some people’s bins remain out on the common property for weeks on end, presumably because the unit owners went away for the holidays. What if these bins started attracting flies and other insects – surely there should be some consequence to the wrongdoers?
These types of behaviours should be addressed in your scheme’s Conduct Rules. If they don’t provide for it yet, 2024 is the year to incorporate these vital provisions by properly tabling and subsequently passing a special resolution in favour of these inclusions at your next general meeting:
1. Issuing a warning
The rules should provide that, when any of the scheme’s Conduct Rules are breached, a written First Transgression Notice be issued to the alleged wrongdoer, explaining the transgression and advising the alleged transgressor to stop and/or rectify the matter by a specified date.
2. Fining
The rules should further make provision for the issuing of a fine if the alleged wrongdoer fails to stop and/or rectify the matter by the specified date. This fine must be accompanied by a second written Transgression Notice to the alleged wrongdoer, again explaining the offence and advising the alleged wrongdoer to stop and/or rectify the matter by a specified date.
The fine amount should be stipulated in the fining rule and must not be greater than the monthly contributions payable by members of the scheme.
3. Disputing
For both first and second Transgression Notices, the wrongdoer must be allowed to dispute the alleged offence and be given the opportunity to meet with the board of trustees to discuss the matter, should they wish to do so.
If you have identified a need for new rules in your scheme, but are unsure of how to draft appropriate rules and/or have them approved, you are welcome to reach out to us at info@theadvisory.co.za to arrange for a consultation with one of our attorneys to discuss your scheme’s needs.
Specialist Community Scheme Attorney (BA, LLB), Ané de Klerk, is a Director of The Advisory, a boutique consultancy specialising exclusively in community schemes law. Her focus is legal education, which includes presenting seminars and running online and in-person training programs and courses. You can reach out to her via email at info@theadvisory.co.za to request an obligation-free quotation.
