Damage to front door and security gate – who pays the excess?
21 January 2022 | Mike Addison
By now we have become familiar with Prescribed Management Rule (“PMR”) 23(2)(b) of Annexure 1 of the Regulations to the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act 8 of 2011 (“the STSMA”), which deals with who should pay the excess following an insurance claim.
The above management rule reads:
“A member is responsible -
for any excess amount that relates to damage to any part of the buildings that member is obliged to repair and maintain in terms of the Act or these rules, and must furnish the body corporate with written proof from the insurer of payment of that amount within seven days of written request.”
In this scenario, we have damages following a break-in to both a front door (the entire door is damaged) and a security gate, which is partially damaged. Let’s say that the security gate costs R4,000.00 to repair, and the front door costs a further R3,000.00 to reinstate. The total claim amounts to R7,000.00, with an excess of R1,000.00 that is applied, and the insurer settles at R6,000.00.
We need to see who is responsible to maintain, repair and/or replace the front door, and similarly the security gate.
Prescribed Conduct Rule (“PCR”) 4 of Annexure 2 of the Regulations to the STSMA deals with Damage to Common Property and subrules 4(2) and 4(3) deal specifically with locking or safety devices.
These conduct rules read:
“(2) An owner or occupier of a section must be considered to have the trustee’s consent to install a locking or safety device to protect the section against intruders, or a screen to protect entry of animals or insects, if the screen or device is soundly built and is consistent with a design, colour, style and materials approved in writing by the trustees.
(3) The owner or occupier of a section must keep a device installed under sub-rule (2) in good order and repair.”
The front door itself, we all know, is always dealt with on a 50/50 basis, as the median line runs through the middle of the door, namely that the owner of the section and the body corporate would be equally responsible and liable. As the entire door needs to be replaced, we can apply the excess portion for the front door on a similar 50/50 basis.
As the member is obliged to repair the security gate in terms of the above, the affected owner is thus obliged to pay the excess portion for the security gate. Interestingly, the CSOS has another view in this regard if one looks at their latest Practice Directive, but this would be contrary to the STSMA.
In summary, here is the pro rata costs of repairs in this practical scenario:
Security Gate R4,000.00 (57%) (excess R570.00)
Door R3,000.00 (43%) (excess R430.00)
Total R7,000.00 (excess R1,000.00)
Body Corporate to contribute 50% of R430.00 i.e. R215.00
Therefore, of the R1,000.00 excess:
Owner pays R785.00
Body Corporate pays R215.00
Always first check the body corporate’s amended management rules, as the body corporate may have delegated its function of maintenance, repair and/or replacement of the common property adjacent to a section to the owner directly. One should further consult the sectional plans of the body corporate as you would need to confirm that the front door is in fact situated on the boundary between the section and common property, and not perhaps on the section or an exclusive use area. It could get complicated…
Should you wish to find out more about a specific point made and/or require our assistance, please contact us on 061 536 3138 or email info@tvdmconsultants.com.
About the Author: Mike Addison owns Addsure (FSP 15269), a specialist sectional title insurance and financial advice service provider.