The Department of Human Settlement has now published Regulations in respect of both the Sectional Titles Scheme Management Act No. 8 of 2011 and the Community Schemes Ombud Services Act No. 9 of 2011.The deadline for public comment on these regulations was the beginning of November.

The Regulations include:

THE SECTIONAL TITLES SCHEMES MANAGEMENT ACT No. 8 OF 2011

• Regulations 1 deals with definitions
• Regulation 2 deals with the minimum amount of the annual contribution by the body corporate to the reserve fund
• Regulation 3 deals with other risks that a body corporate must address. These are:

• Lightning, explosion and smoke;
• Riot, civil communication, strikes, lockouts, labour disturbances or malicious persons acting on behalf of or in connection with any political organisation;
• Storm, windstorm, hail and floods;
• Earthquakes and subsidence;
• Water escape, including bursting or overflowing of water tanks, apparatus or pipes;
• Impact by aircraft and vehicles; and
• Housebreaking or any attempted threat.

• Regulation 4 sets out the powers of a provisional curator appointed in terms of the Community Schemes Ombud Act
• Regulation 5 deals with the forms to be used when:

• The body corporate notifies owners of its service address; and
• The body corporate amends the rules.

• Regulation 6 deals with the standard Management and Conduct Rules

Management Rules

There are basically 31 Management Rules broadly categorized under the following headings:

• Part 1 deals with definitions, amending and binding nature of the rules, service and addresses of the body corporate;
• Part 2 deals with the trustees – elections thereof, qualifications and pay-outs and indemnity of the trustees;
• Part 3 deals with trustee meetings and decisions;
• Part 4 deals with owner meetings;
• Part 5 deals with Financial Management of the schemes;
• Part 6 deals with administrative management of the sectional title schemes; and
• Part 7 deals with the physical management of the schemes.

Conduct Rules

There are 8 conduct rules categorized as under the following headings:

• Rule 1 deals with the keeping of animals, reptiles and birds in the sectional title scheme;
• Rule 2 deals with refuse and waste disposal;
• Rule 3 deals with the parking of vehicles;
• Rule 4 deals with the prohibition of damaging the common property;
• Rule 5 deals with the appearance of sections and exclusive use areas;
• Rule 6 deals with the storage of flammable materials;
• Rule 7 deals with the behaviour of occupiers and visitors in sections and on the common property; and
• Rule 8 deals with the eradication of pests in sections.

• Regulation 7 provides that the Advisory Council must be broadly representative of females, males and, where possible, include people with disabilities

THE COMMUNITY SCHEMES OMBUD SERVICES ACT No. 9 OF 2011

There are 23 Regulations categorized into 5 chapters:

• Chapter 1 deals with definitions
• Chapter 2 deals with the activities of the Community Schemes Ombud Services Board
• Chapter 3 deals with scheme levies and service fees. This is very important as these levies and fees will assist the service to be financially sustainable
• It is proposed that each section owner who owns a unit valued by the Municipality at R500 001 and above must pay R3.40 per month – with the fees increasing on a sliding scale based on the municipal value, with a maximum fee of R68.00 for each unit valued at R250 001.00 and above.
• For dispute resolutions, an application fee of R50.00 is charged for referring a dispute for conciliation and if the matter is not resolved at conciliation and is referred for adjudication, the applicant will be required to pay an amount of R100.00.
• People who earn an amount below R5 500.00 per month will be entitled to a 100% waiver of application and adjudication fees.