Segments, schemes and citrus: A fresh look at sectional title

What fruit has the letter “O” in it? If you immediately thought of an orange, you’re on the right track… we are talking citrus. But today, we’re actually talking about lemons. 

You may be wondering: what on earth do lemons have to do with sectional title property? Let’s start at the beginning… at the roots. 

A lemon tree doesn’t simply grow on its own natural roots. Most citrus trees are grafted onto rootstock. In other words, their growth begins in one way, but they are transferred onto another root system so they can develop into something specific (a lemon tree that produces lemons). 

Sectional title property works in a surprisingly similar way. All property technically starts from land (an erf). But when a development is registered as a sectional scheme, something changes. Through a legal process at the Deeds Office, that piece of land is transformed into a sectional title scheme made up of individual units and common property. 

Just as rootstock transforms a plant into a lemon-producing tree, registration transforms land into a sectional property scheme. 

When you cut a lemon open, inside, you’ll find segments. Each segment forms part of the lemon. But if you remove one segment and place it on its own, it is no longer “a lemon.” It’s a segment of a lemon. If you remove all the segments, what remains? The peel. Still part of the lemon but not the whole lemon. None of these parts, in isolation, can be called the complete lemon. 

This is exactly how a sectional scheme functions. An individual owner owns a unit (a “segment” of the scheme). But no single owner represents the whole. Decisions about the scheme cannot be made unilaterally. They require the involvement of the body corporate, trustees, or the majority of owners.

If you cut any citrus open, it has segments. It looks similar. But an orange is an orange, not a lemon. Despite sharing characteristics, citrus fruits are not the same. They originate differently. They taste different. They serve different purposes. A glass of lemon juice and a glass of orange juice are not interchangeable experiences. 

The same applies in the property world. Not all property structures are the same, even if they appear similar. In property ownership structures, there are: 

• Sectional title schemes (body corporates) 
• Homeowners’ associations (HOAs) 
• Time-shares 
• Leaseholds 

They may all involve shared governance or collective rules, but they operate differently and serve different purposes. An apartment in a sectional scheme is not the same as a freehold home in an HOA estate, just as a lemon is not an orange. 

The deeper you go into citrus varieties, the more nuanced and complex it becomes. The same is true of sectional property law. Governance structures, voting rights, common property, exclusive use areas… it’s all layered. From the outside, it might look simple. Cut it open, and you’ll see the segments. 

In the world of property, everything may fall under one broad category. But that does not mean everything functions in the same way. Not all citrus is the same. Not all property structures are the same. And not every segment can claim to be the whole lemon. 

So perhaps the lesson isn’t “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Perhaps it’s this: Understand the fruit you’re dealing with before you decide what to do with it.