Question:
A dividing wall separating two exclusive use gardens needs repairing. This wall was built as part of the original development and is built on common property.

Is this the responsibility of the body corporate? I guess the same question applies to boundary walls.

Answer:
The short answer to your question is, 'it depends'.

In terms of the Sectional Titles Act 95 of 1986, the body corporate is responsible to repair and maintain all the common property (including common property which is subject to exclusive use rights). However, the owners who are the holders of exclusive use rights are responsible to reimburse the body corporate for any money it spends on repairing or maintaining those areas of the common property to which they hold exclusive use rights.

In light of the above, you will only know who is operationally and financially responsible for the dividing wall which separates two exclusive use garden areas once you have ascertained whether that wall forms part of one or both of those exclusive use garden areas, or if it is unregulated common property which is not subject to any exclusive use rights. The same goes for the boundary walls in the scheme.

In order to ascertain the nature of the walls I suggest you inspect the scheme’s sectional plan and, if the exclusive use rights were granted in terms of the scheme’s rules, the layout plan of the exclusive use areas attached to those rules.

If the nature of the walls is unclear after inspecting these documents then I suggest that you contact the land surveyor who drafted the scheme’s sectional plan and/or the person who drafted the layout plan attached to the rules for further assistance in this regard.

  • Links to all Jennifer's previous Q&As on page two…

  • Click here to ask Jennifer a question regarding sectional title property.


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