Life as a tenant in a body corporate
4 September 2020 | Zerlinda van der Merwe
As a tenant residing in a sectional title scheme, it's at times difficult to feel as though you are part of the community, as often the communication from the trustees and managing agent is only sent to the landlord, as owner of a unit and member of the body corporate. Often, important day-to-day information or news is missed because the non-owner residents are not informed.
At the Annual General Meeting, which a tenant can only attend if holding a proxy from their landlord or another member in the body corporate, the members sometimes decide that only resident owners should be trustees and entrusted with the administration and management of the scheme.
As a tenant, your conduct often comes under the scrutiny of the management of the scheme, especially if you are a short-term tenant. What happens if you are accused of contravening the rules of the scheme, are you allowed to defend your position? Often not, unless rules allow you to make representations to the trustees in regard to your alleged conduct. However, did you know that a tenant can be a party to an application for dispute resolution at the Community Schemes Ombud Service? Yes, so if you dispute the validity of a decision of the trustees or the members of the body corporate, or wish to challenge the validity of a rule etc., you can approach the CSOS for relief.
What happens if you want to keep a pet within the scheme, or undertake alterations to the section you reside in, can you apply directly to the trustees? No, the landlord, as owner, must approach the trustees for this type of decision, as your lease agreement could prevent the keeping of a pet in the unit, or you may not be allowed to do anything to the interior without the prior consent of the landlord, if at all.
Needing to lease a portion of common property, such as a parking? As a tenant, the body corporate, by special resolution, can enter into a lease agreement with you, termination when you vacate the unit and scheme.
However, despite sometimes not quite belonging, the rules of the body corporate still very much apply to you, your family members, visitors, employees and contractors, so do comply, even if your lease makes no mention of same or makes some contrary provision like allowing pets when the scheme does not.
If you're a tenant and have some queries about what you can and can't do in your community scheme, contact us on 061 536 3183 or email info@tvdnconsultations.com.