Industry Frequently Asked Questions

Here you’ll find all the answers to your questions about the property industry and other related content.

“community scheme” means any scheme or arrangement in terms of which there is shared use of and responsibility for parts of land and buildings, including but not limited to a sectional titles development scheme, a share block company, a home or property owner’s association, however constituted, established to administer a property development, a housing scheme for retired persons, and a housing co-operative as contemplated in the South African Co-operatives Act, 2005 (Act No. 14 of 2005) and “scheme” has the same meaning;
Sectional title is a form of property ownership used in multi-level apartment blocks, townhouses and a variety of other developments with shared facilities and areas.

It allows individual ownership of part of a property (called a “section”, which is generally an apartment or townhouse) and joint or shared ownership of all the other areas (called the “common property”, which includes the driveway, gardens, foyers, lifts, stairways, roofs, etc.).

Every section is allocated a “participation quota” that determines the size of the share in the common property that is co-owned by the owner of that section.

Every owner is a member of the “body corporate”, which is a legal entity that exists to control, manage and maintain all the common property. Often a “managing agent”, being a person who professionally manages sectional title properties, is employed to manage the common property on the body corporate’s behalf.

Sectional title developments can be residential, commercial, retail, mixed use (eg. commercial and residential), serviced apartments, retirement villages, caravan parks or resorts.

A homeowners’ association (HOA) is a legal body in which the individual properties are exclusively owned, while the communal infrastructure and facilities are owned by the association. This communal property can include boundary walls, security entrances, club houses and can also include the roads and bulk infrastructure services for water and electricity supply.

Each owner must be a member of the HOA so that they are bound by the governance documentation to ensure that they are legally liable to make contributions towards the HOA communal costs and abide by the other rules applicable to the estate.

The Community Schemes Ombud Service

The CSOS is an organisation provides an alternative and affordable dispute resolution service for parties in a community scheme. Members of a community scheme have the right, after having exhausted all internal dispute resolution mechanisms, to lodge an application with the CSOS for conciliation and adjudication.

CSOS also promotes good governance of community schemes by developing and implementing appropriate guidelines to enhance stability and harmonious relations amongst the parties.

Educational campaigns to educate and train stakeholders within community schemes and the public at large will also be offered via CSOS.

All community schemes as defined by CSOS Act (any scheme or arrangement in terms of which there is shared use of and responsibility for parts of land and buildings), this is NOT just limited to Body Corporates and Home Owner’s Associations and can even include commercial properties and businesses.
Registration can only be filed using the CS1 Form. The CS1 form can be accessed from the CSOS website www.csos.org.za All scheme governance documentation is referenced under “Community Schemes Governance Forms”.

Community Schemes can download the Form, fill in the details, attach the required Annexures and email to registration@csos.org.za or hand deliver at of any of the CSOS offices.

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