5 Issues Sectional title schemes are struggling with in 2017

5 Issues Sectional title schemes are struggling with in 2017.

On the 14 th of November CSOS held the last of their Public Participation meetings at Gallagher Estate in Midrand, Gauteng.

Ms Ndivhuo Rabuli, the head of Legal and Governance at CSOS, shared a couple of issues many Sectional Title Schemes still seem to be having difficulties with, below I have highlighted 5 of the most important ones:

  1. Conduct Rules:many schemes are still not submitting their rule changes to the Ombud for approval, or have rules that are not in line with the new legislation; find out what you need to know about rules in our blog article “Rule Changes for Sectional Title Community Schemes” by clicking on the link below:
    https://www.amiti.cloud/blog-rule-changes-for-sectional-title-community-schemes.html
  2. Payments (not) made to CSOS:Obviously, CSOS rely on the contributions from community schemes to be able to carry out their functions. Schemes are responsible to pay their levies to the Ombud each quarter. To make sure CSOS can correctly allocate your payment, always make sure you use the correct reference number (your CSOS registration number) when making payment. If you need to shorten the number because of the banking system you are using, ALWAYS use the letters CSOS, PLUS the letters for your province (for instance GP if you are in Gauteng), PLUS the last six digits of your registration number.Never use your scheme’s SS number or the name of your scheme – this will make it near impossible for CSOS to allocate your payment accurately! Here is a summary of what a shortened reference number should look like:CSOS + abbreviation for the province in which the scheme is located (for example GP) + the last six digits of the scheme’s CSOS registration number. Your reference number could look something like this: CSOSGP123456For more information please see the CSOS directive in our resource library: CSOS Practise Directive no1 of 2017 Payment of CSOS Levies
  3. Registration of schemes: The final deadline for schemes to register with CSOS is 31 March 2018, after which penalties will apply, and scheme executives could be held liable for being in contravention of the CSOS Act. Owners in schemes that are not registered may also struggle to sell their properties as the Deeds Office will not transfer a property without clearance from CSOS. Banks may also be very reluctant to offer bonds for properties in schemes that are not registered or compliant with CSOS legislation.
  4. Contributions to the Reserve Funds (Sectional Title Schemes only): Where schemes feel that complying with these requirements will result in levy increases that are unrealistically high, they may make application to CSOS for a grace period in which they will be given a chance to bring their Reserve Fund up to an acceptable level. Applications, with supporting documentation, need to be made to CSOS in writing.
  5. 10-year maintenance plan: CSOS is currently busy drafting a sample 10 year plan that schemes will be able to use to base their own plans on. In the interim schemes are still required to draw up their own 10-year plans.

5 Issues Sectional title schemes are struggling with in 2017

Johan NothlingAuthor
Johan has been in the Community Scheme industry for more than 10 years with 8 years of experience as a senior portfolio manager. He currently consults on and helps to design online management solutions for Community Schemes.

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Please note that the views and opinions expressed in articles and/or blog posts are those of the authors concerned and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Amiti Solutions.