It is a pity that a substantial number of owners buy into sectional title complexes without understanding how they really work.
Most importantly, they don’t understand that they are becoming part of a community that is run on democratic principles where the majority rules.
So often we have individual owners that don’t understand why a building is not being run the way that they want it to be run.
Body corporates are made up of every owner in the building or complex and each owner has a say at a general meeting.
They are able to vote on any item that is raised based on both one vote per owner and, importantly, a vote based on the size of their unit.
So, for example, a bachelor flat of 30 square meters would have a third of the vote of a three-bedroom flat of 100 square meters.
In practice, this really happens as most agreements are usually done by consensus – vast majority of owners, if not all, agree to the decision taken.
But there is always one owner who does not understand why he cannot have his way.
In one of our buildings, an owner is complaining because he feels that the body corporate (the trustees) and/or the managing agents are charging too much for electricity.
It has been explained that the charges are metered and charged out at exactly the same rate as the Centlec rate and that the building makes no profit on the resale of electricity.
On top of that, at his insistence, the body corporate has received a quotation from Centlec for putting individual pre-paid meters directly connected to Centlec.
Apparently, the quotation has confirmed that the current system gives the cheapest electricity and that everything is working fine.
The cost of the changeover for just 14 units is something like R160 000 or R11 500 per unit.
The other owners have decided not to go this route as their electricity would actually be on a higher tariff, apart from which they don’t have R11 500 each or a special levy to make this change.
But our one owner is still not happy and has complained to the Community Schemes Ombud Service.
It is clear that this owner should never live in a sectional title scheme.
Rather, he should sell and go and live in a free-standing home where he would have to pay for everything for himself.
As it is, he is in arrears on his normal levy and is unhappy that he has been handed over for collection as a result.
Sectional title schemes work well when they are well managed and the running of the scheme is open and above board.
There are just those people who cannot work as part of a group and should not buy property where other people’s opinions count.
- Mike Spencer is the founder and owner of Platinum Global. He is also a professional associated property valuer and consultant with work across the country as well as Eastern Europe and Australia.