No 1 Estates

					SECTIONAL TITLE
					Insurance Sectional Titles Act No 66 of 1971 Article 29

 Insurance 

The Sectional Title Act, No 66 of 1971 Article 29, is very clear on this matter and I quote “The Body Corporate shall ….. insure the building(s) and keep it insured to its replacement value against fire and such other risks as may be presented”.

The insurance must cover all the sections and all improvements to the common property.  The premiums for this insurance form part of the monthly levy.  If you feel that you unit is worth more than the amount for which it is insured, you are at liberty to take out extra cover to perceived the shortfall for example a thatch roof lapa.  Please note that the Body Corporate insurance only covers damage and destruction of the buildings.  It does not cover the contents of your section.  You must make sure that your furniture and personal belongings are separately and adequately insured by means of a suitable policy. 

2.            The Extension of Buildings 

An owner, who wishes to extend his or her section either by the addition of an extra room or the extension of an existing room, must get a unanimous resolution from the Body Corporate approving the extension before approaching the local authority for planning approval.  In addition to the cost of effecting the extension, the owner whose section is to be extended will be responsible for the costs of getting the sectional plan amended, participation quotas re-calculated and the amended sectional plan registered.  This applies to any extension which infringes onto common property and can include balconies, patios and terraces including vertical extensions.   

A developer, at the time he applies for the opening of the Register and registration of the Sectional Plan, is entitled to impose a condition reserving to himself the right for his own account to extend the Scheme by the addition of sections. 

The units thus created were the property of the developer and could be sold by him for his own account.  The buildings which ultimately formed part of the Scheme were completed in two or more ‘phases’.  Such extensions of buildings in Schemes became known as ‘phased developments’.  Any extension which affects the harmonious appearance of the scheme cannot be approved by the Body Corporate.

3.            The name of the Body Corporate 

The name of a Body Corporate is: The Body Corporate (name), Number __________ (allocated by the Register of Deeds Office). 

There is no provision in the Act for the Alteration of either the name allocated by the Developer to a Scheme or the Number allocated by the Register of Deeds to that Scheme.  Accordingly the name of a Body Corporate cannot be altered.  It is of utmost importance that the full and correct name of a Body Corporate be used in all Body Corporate documentation. 

4.             Audit 

At the first general meeting and at every annual general meeting  of the Body Corporate the owners must appoint an auditor who is to hold office from the end of that meeting until the end of the next annual general meeting.  In Schemes which have less than 10 units, the owners may appoint an accounting officer to perform the duties of an auditor. 

If it is likely that the auditor or accounting officer who was employed by the Body Corporate during the last financial year will be reappointed.   

Unless otherwise decided by the Trustees, the financial year of the Body Corporate runs from the 1^st day of March in each year to the last day of February in the following year.  

For further information you can contact Jonathan Basson cell + 264 (0) 811281241