Repairs and Maintenance in Community Schemes
Part 1 – Who is Responsible for Repairs and Maintenance
Repairs and Maintenance in a Community Scheme is as important as collecting levies, the Annual General Meeting and having comprehensive insurance cover.
A Sectional Title Scheme (Body Corporate) and Home Owners Associations (Estate) consists of three areas: Sections, Common Property and Exclusive Use Areas.
How does one differentiate between a Section, Common Property and Exclusive Use Area?
- A Section is indicated as a Section on the plans. The boundary of a Section is shown on the plan as a median line on the floor, walls and ceiling of that section, and can include any defined balcony or projection. A section would be everything “inside” the median line.
- Common Property is any area in the scheme which is not part of a section. Common property includes external walls of sections, corridors, roads, open spaces, or areas used for facilities or amenities. When looking at the plan, Common Property would be everything “outside” of the median line.
- An Exclusive Use Area is a part of the Common Property which has been reserved for the exclusive use of one of the Owner of a section. These often include parking bays, gardens or storage facilities.
- Should you reside in a Sectional Title Scheme (Body Corporate) within a Home Owners Association (Estate) the responsibility for repairs and maintenance of Common Property will be split between the Body Corporate and Estate, depending on what falls within the Body Corporate’s Common Property and the Estate’s Common Property.For example: The boundary wall around the Estate and the main access gate to the Estate would be repaired and maintained by the Estate.
The boundary wall around the Body Corporate and the main access gate to the Body Corporate would be repaired and maintained by the Body Corporate.
Who looks after a Section, Common Property and Exclusive Use Area?
- The repairs and maintenance of a Section is the sole responsibility of the Owner of that Section. This would include ceilings, walls, floors, cupboards, plumbing, electrical, aircons, etc. The owner has to ensure that he keeps his section in a good state of repair at all times.
Often the question arises, who is responsible for the maintenance and repairs of entrance doors, garage doors and windows. The general rule of thumb is that the cost is split 50/50 between the Owner of the Section and Body Corporate or Estate, unless the rules indicates something different or the damage is caused by the resident of that section or there is a different agreement in place between and Owner and the Body Corporate or Estate. - Common Property repairs and maintenance is the sole responsibility of the Body Corporate or Estate. This means that the Body Corporate or Estate is responsible for the repair and maintenance of common garden areas, roads, pathways, facilities, roofs, fire equipment, gutters and any other area of the Property which is not considered a Section. The Body Corporate or Estate collects funds for the repair and maintenance of Common Property via the Levies raised in accordance to the Annual Budget and Maintenance Reserve Fund approved by the Members.
- And Exclusive Use Area is a shared responsibility between the Owner and Body Corporate or Estate. The repair and maintenance remain the responsibility of the Body Corporate or Estate, but the costs for the repair and maintenance is the Owner’s responsibility. However, it is the Owner’s sole responsibility to ensure that the Exclusive Use Area is kept neat and tidy at all times.
Overview
Ensuring that repairs and maintenance is done to Sections, Common Property and Exclusive Use Areas is everyone’s responsibility in one way or another. Not only does it ensure that the Scheme is welcoming to all and a nice place to come home too, it ensures property values increase and insurance requirements are met in the event of a claim.
What Can LevyTate Do For You?
LevyTate has designed an advanced, easy to use, fault logging app where you can log your request for maintenance or repairs with the click of a button on your phone, with one of our expert Property Managers waiting to receive your request and take the hassle out of hustling with contractors. You can track your request at all times via the app and you can also be kept up to date by email, phone or whatsapp.
We have also partnered with Enhance Maintenance to ensure that we have maintenance experts and contractors on call when we need them.
Contact us on info@levytate.co.za or 031 940 1207 for more information on our Managing Agent Services and our Fault Logging App.
