The Mooikloof Glen Estates Home Owners Association took a stand owner to the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria in an effort to seize his stand after he failed to build a house within a year of buying the piece of land. Read the article…………………………….
Gatekeepers of Property: Unveiling Unethical HOA Fees in South African Estates
In the serene, gated communities of South Africa, where security and exclusivity offer a promise of tranquility, a storm brews beneath the surface. At the heart of this tempest are the Homeowners’ Associations (HOAs), embroiled in controversial practices that may not only be unethical but potentially illegal. It’s a narrative that delves deep into the […]
South Africa: Community Harmony: Your Guide to Ideal Living Spaces
It doesn’t matter if you’re a potential tenant, first-time home owner, investor owner, new family, empty nester or retired, if you’re looking for a community of like-minded individuals, with a mutual interest in protecting your investment with priorities of security, aesthetics, financial stability and maintaining value, then community scheme living is for you. Read the […]
South Africa: Battle within Paradise: Power Struggle Erupts in Johannesburg’s Elite Estate
In the sprawling green expanse of Johannesburg’s elite Eagle Canyon Golf Estate, a conflict has hatched that echoes far beyond its manicured lawns and gleaming facade. The dispute is not about the rising price of property or a disagreement over the color of a fence. It’s a battle about governance, about power, about the right […]
South Africa: Enforcement of BEE in community schemes must be rejected (Op/Ed)
A month ago, Minister of Human Settlements, Mmamoloko Kubayi, delivered an address at the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) Indaba in which she said that community schemes (which include sectional title complexes, homeowners’ associations, retirement housing schemes, share block companies and housing cooperatives) should be subject to mandatory ‘economic transformation’. Read the article………………………..
South Africa: Until race-based legislation is transparent, mistrust won’t dissipate
An innovative way to create jobs for previously disadvantaged people? Or, as the Democratic Alliance claim, a scheme aimed at capturing gated communities for B-BBEE companies connected to cadres”? Read the article………………………..
South Africa: Cats and other issues of complaints not for ombud to determine, court rules
A resident and homeowner at an upmarket Johannesburg golf estate will no longer be able to call on the Community Scheme Ombud Service to resolve the disputes between her and the homeowners association. Read the article………………………..
South Africa: Woman sentenced to five years in prison
According to a statement by the Directorate for Priority Crimes (Hawks) Holtzhauzen was employed as a financial administration manager at Zandspruit Homeowners Association NPC situated in Hoedspruit. “Some of her responsibilities as a manager, include paying service providers for services rendered. Instead of paying the service providers, the accused created fictitious claims and transferred the […]
South Africa: Woman to spend five years in jail for stealing more than R1.6 million from her employer
“Between January 28, 2019 and October 24, 2019, the accused was employed as a financial administration manager at Zandspruit Homeowners Association NPC situated in Hoedspruit. Some of her responsibilities as a manager were to pay the service providers for services rendered for the company,” Maluleke said. Read the article………………………..
South Africa: Disgruntled Savoy and Waverly residents adopt derelict Weinberg Park
Savoy Estate Residents Association (Sera) and Waverley Ratepayers Residents Homeowners Association (WRRHA)’s vision for Weinberg Family Park includes: planting trees, maintaining infrastructure, and fixing the fencing. Read the article………………………..
South Africa: What are the rules for installing solar power when living in a complex?
The worsening load-shedding crisis is causing homeowners to seek alternatives to Eskom’s electricity supply. Many consumers have since opted for Solar power, an attractive option if you’re considering an entry-level solution to survive power outages or looking to get completely off the grid……Owners of standalone homes have leeway when installing solar power systems. But what […]
Rules for installing solar in complexes and estates in South Africa
Unlike stand-alone homeowners, those who live in residential estates or complexes in South Africa have several rules that need to be considered when looking to install solar. Read the article………………………..
South Africa: Fines and penalties in estates in South Africa – what you should know
South Africans building in an estate must ensure construction remains on track or face costly fines. Legal firm Wright Rose-Innes has noted a spike in clients who have received a large penalty on their monthly levy account from their corporate body or homeowner’s association for not starting/completing the building of a property on their estate’s […]
South Africa: Estate homeowners’ association loses high court appeal against ombud’s ruling
The Chapman’s Bay Estate Homeowners’ Association has lost its application to review and set aside an adjudication order by dispute resolution resource the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) on levies that the association imposed on a property. Read the article………………………..
South Africa: SARS tax alert for complexes and gated communities in South Africa – what you need to know
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has published its 2023 guidelines for tax-exempt institutions, alerting Home Owner Associations (HOA) to their tax obligations. While HOAs are partially exempt institutions, they are still subject to some obligations, SARS said. Read the article………………………..
South Africa: Asbestos: New compliance requirements for body corporates and homeowners’ associations
The duties of body corporate trustees and HOA directors reached the next level of complexity when “asbestos management” was effectively added to their compliance checklist. Read the article………………………..
South Africa: City completely misses point says Kuilsriver residents in gated-community row
THE City of Cape Town has presented Kuilsriver residents with a proposal to end the protracted dispute over the erection of a security gate. Read the article………………………..
South Africa: The dog and noise rules that South Africans living in complexes and estates should know about
A new symptom of the Covid-19 crisis and work-from-home business model is plaguing residents in community housing schemes like sectional title complexes and residential estates: barking dogs. Read the entire article……………………………….
South Africa: What the PPA means for Community Housing Schemes
Much has already been said about the Property Practitioners Act (PPA) and Regulations which came into effect on 1 February and the immediate effects on consumers in the property sector as well as all the estate agents, brokers, property managers, auctioneers, bond originators, bridging financiers and home inspectors that fall under its ambit. Read the […]
South Africa: Blyde River and the thorny issue of short term rentals in complexes
For permanent residents, units rented out on a short-term basis – whether through Airbnb or other channels – can be bad news, jeopardising the development’s reputation, property values and security. For many property investors, however, short term rentals are their bread and butter. Read the entire article……………………………….
South Africa: Changes to regulations at Pretoria ‘beach estate’ to be set aside
Balwin Properties has lost its case against unit owners of the Blyde Riverwalk Estate in Pretoria. In a ground-breaking ruling the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) ruled that changes to the regulations at the estate were to be set aside. Read the entire article……………………………….
South Africa: Lagoons and lawyers: Pretoria ‘beach’ residents unhappy with changes
There is trouble brewing in paradise, as homeowners living at Pretoria’s “beach” are clashing with the property developers over new regulations within The Blyde Riverwalk Estate. Read the entire article……………………………….
South Africa: Important changes for complexes and estates in South Africa taking effect from today
With the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia) coming into effect on Thursday (1 July), community housing schemes need to urgently appoint their official information officers and ensure that they are registered with the Information Regulator, says Andrew Schaefer, managing director of property management company Trafalgar. Read the entire article……………………………….
South Africa: The noise rules that South Africans living in complexes and estates should know about
Being a good neighbour means enjoying the comfort and convenience of your home without interfering with your neighbours, and vice versa. Neighbour disputes are common, often relating to things such as noise, parking and encroaching trees. Read the article……………………………….
South Africa: Board committees in property associations – the legal side of social, ethics committees
The duties of directors of property development-related associations have at times been an uncertain area of law – one could argue that many associations have seen themselves as somewhat “special” and “separate” from the Companies Act. In many instances believing that only the Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI) is applicable, often forgetting that contract law, being […]
South Africa: The POPI Act and privacy in community housing schemes
The Act provides for personal information to be kept in such a way that it is protected from unauthorised access – by computer hackers, for example – and for it not to be sold to or exchanged with any other organisation. Read the article……………………………………
South Africa: Limpopo official accused of R4.8m theft from community association
A senior Molemole Local Municipality official was arrested for alleged theft of R4.8 million from a communal property organisation. He was mentoring the Makgatho Community Property Association when he convinced them to invest in a company linked to his wife Read the article…………………………………..
South Africa: A complex has obtained a court order to stop one resident from parking badly
A residential complex in Bloubergstrand tried to stop one resident from habitually using visitor parking, because he has three vehicles and one of his two garages is full of other stuff. Read the article……………………………..
South Africa: The best way to stop HOA levy arrears
If you live in an estate, you know that there are always those who are reluctant and slow to pay their monthly levies – and a few who won’t pay at all until the homeowners’ association (HOA) has already started to take legal action against them. Read the article…………………………
South Africa: Could your homeowners’ association stop your home sale?
If you’re buying a property in an estate or cluster complex run by a homeowners’ association (HOA), you need to know that you might not be able to resell that property without the approval of the HOA. Read the article…………………………
South African residential estates are now using drones to boost security
South African residential estates are now using drones to keep their perimeters secure, according to Kim James, director of Drone Guards – a company which has been contracted to provide drone security services to a number of residential estates in the country. Read the article………………………….
South Africa: Private gated estates can enforce speed limits – SCA rules
Private gated estates are entitled to draw up their own rules, including setting speed limits on internal roads and imposing “fines” for exceeding them, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled on Thursday. The ruling, by Judge Visvanathan Ponnan (with four judges concurring), overturned a previous judgment delivered by judges in KwaZulu Natal who declared invalid […]
South Africa: GatedEstates: A victory against ‘arrogant’ draconian rules
Property tycoon Niemesh Singh is prepared to fight the Mount Edgecombe Country Club Estate in the highest court should they appeal against a landmark high court judgment against gated estates. On Friday, Singh successfully contested the “draconian rules”, including restrictions placed on the movement of domestic workers at the swish estate, in court this week. […]
South Africa: Big fight between Telkom and Vodacom could leave residents without fibre
Telkom has won what it calls a “landmark” court case against Vodacom regarding the use of its infrastructure. The case was resolved in the Western Cape High Court on 26 July, following an urgent application brought against Vodacom by Telkom. The application related to Vodacom’s “unlawful use of its infrastructure in the Dennegeur Residential Estate”. […]
Rules are rules: Pets in flats (South Africa)
Pet ownership generally creates problems in sectional title schemes and HOA run estates as many will either have conduct rules which stipulate “no pets allowed” or “one or two pets, of a small nature” but what happens when an owner goes against the rules, the trustees turn a blind eye for a period of time […]