Legal and Advisory Archives | Sectional Title Solutions

25 September 2025 Legal and Advisory

To Airbnb or not to Airbnb?

In January 2021, the High Court of South Africa delivered a landmark decision in what has become known as The Paddocks case. The judgment confirmed that a body corporate can prevent owners from using their units for short-term Airbnb rentals if such use is prohibited under validly adopted Conduct Rules.

15 September 2025 Legal and Advisory

The 2025 CSOS Directive - A new era of fairness and accountability in community schemes?

The implementation of the 2025 CSOS Consolidated Practice Directive is certainly a step forward, in harmonising the growing need for community living, and ensuring that vital principles of legality and fairness are being upheld.

11 September 2025 Legal and Advisory

Struggling to pay your levies? Here’s what you can do

Financial hardship can happen to anyone. A sudden job loss, unexpected medical expenses, or broader economic pressures can leave sectional title owners struggling to keep up with levy payments. It’s a situation more common than many realise, and it can have serious consequences not only for the individual owner, but for the body corporate and the entire scheme.

26 August 2025 Funding and Treasury, Legal and Advisory

Practical steps for collecting arrear levies in community schemes

Left unchecked, arrear levies can spiral into financial instability, deteriorating facilities, overdue municipal accounts, and even service disconnections. However, with a clear, structured strategy and the right financial tools, your scheme can address arrears effectively and lawfully.

25 August 2025 Legal and Advisory

Can an owner or tenant run a business from their section in a sectional title scheme?

The shift toward remote and hybrid working models, originally accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, has since become a long-term structural change in the workplace. Many companies have recognised the benefits of flexible work arrangements, including reduced overhead costs, improved employee satisfaction, and access to a broader talent pool unconstrained by geography.

24 August 2025 Legal and Advisory

Ensuring a smooth trustee handover in sectional title schemes

Trustees play a pivotal role in the government, administration, and financial management of complexes, flats and estates around South Africa. Sometimes these individuals resign or retire, which is why a proper handover is indispensable

28 July 2025 Legal and Advisory

Is your community scheme POPIA compliant?

For trustees and managing agents, staying POPIA compliant is no longer just about best practice. It’s a legal obligation, and with the new regulations, fines, stricter procedures, and expanded rights for data subjects are now firmly on the table.

27 July 2025 Legal and Advisory

The ins and outs of paying CSOS levies, and why it really matters

If you live in a complex, estate, block of flats, or any other kind of community scheme in South Africa, you’ve probably heard of CSOS (the Community Schemes Ombud Service). But what exactly is it, and why are you paying them a levy?

man on the pphone with a final demand letter in his hand

26 June 2025 Legal and Advisory

Can trustees send final demand letters for arrear levies without owner consent?

In sectional title schemes, the issue of unpaid levies quickly becomes a point of friction. But one question that often arises from owners, especially those on the receiving end, is this: “Can the trustees send final demand letters without the owners’ approval?”

24 June 2025 Legal and Advisory

When gardens and garages collide: who pays for the leaks between exclusive use areas

What happens when a lush exclusive use garden - neatly landscaped and lovingly maintained - sits directly above someone else’s exclusive use garage… and water starts seeping through? That is the problem facing a group of trustees who recently contacted us for help. In their scheme, Exclusive Use Area (EUA) gardens have begun leaking into EUA garages below. The repairs including removal of the gardens, re-waterproofing, and reinstatement are estimated to be close to R1m.

Legal and Advisory