WEDDING BELLS IN THE WESTERN CAPE
Nama’s Secretary responsible for the Western & Eastern Cape, Johnine Smit, will be known as Mrs Johnine Pretorius as from Saturday, 16 February 2008, when she got married!
Congratulations to Johnine and our best wishes be with you and your husband for a long and happy life together - from the Directors, peers and members of Nama
THE COLLECTION OF LEVIES IN ARREARS
Every owner of a unit in a S/T scheme are obliged to make levy contributions to the B/C of the scheme in which he owns a unit to defray the scheme’s expenses, irrespective of whether he resides there or not.
Read about this in the article by Judith van der Walt in the Nama News – Jan 2008 issue. Visit www.namasa.co.za
MAGAZINE - "BODY CORPORATE NEWS"
This magazine is directed to the B/C's with articles of interest to the owners, Trustees and M/A's.
LANDLORDS NEED AN ORDER TO EVICT TENANTS
"The general impression is that the PIE ACT is weighted i.f.o. tenants, however, landlords should remain confident in the knowledge that they retain all rights over their property as the lawful owner" says Heather Briggs of Shepstone & Wylie Attorneys. "A landlord is simply delayed in enforcing these rights as there are a number of procedural requirements to satisfy, which can take a few months", she says.
For more information see: www.rodneyhayter.com Monday, February 4.
A GENERATOR TIME BOMB
B/C's are being approached by owners requesting permission to install generators and Trustees are left to make a decision that could be potentially life-threatening.
BE CAREFUL!!
Unborn babies, infants, and people with anaemia or a history of heart or respiratory disease are especially susceptible to the effects of CO (gas) exposure.
Read more about this in the BBM newsletter of February 2008. Contact : paul@bbmlaw.co.za
On this same topic the question is raised whether a generator is a luxurious or non-luxurious improvement (PMR 33).
See www.rodneyhayter.com Thursday February 21.
B/C's CAN TAKE ARREAR LEVY DISPUTES TO ARBITRATION.
(PMR 71)
In the past arrear levies were sometimes taken to arbitration where a dispute between the B/C and the owner exist. And everything went fine! And then somebody made a row!
The following is an extract from an e-mail received from Marina Constas on 18 February 2008.
"During the course of last year, however, we were stopped in our tracks by a debtor at Greenacres Body Corporate who used the technical argument that you can’t take arrear levy matters to arbitration, as the Sectional Titles Act clearly states that you must go to court to recover levies. Without going into the details of the case, the debtor won the case at the High Court. This was such a blow to the smooth running of defended sectional title collection matters. Convinced that the High Court was incorrect in the judgement, our litigation team approached the Appeal Court in Bloemfontein. On the 27th of November 2007, we experienced a resounding victory!! All five judges at the Appeal Court held in our favour. In other words they found that the Body Corporate can take arrear levy disputes to arbitration! This decision will have a positive impact on the Sectional Title industry, and will go a long way to speed up the process for desperate Bodies Corporate who are being held to ransom by owners who defend for the sole purpose of delay.
To find out more about Sectional Title arrear levy collection contact:
Paul Connell : BBM’s Sectional Title relationship manager on 011 622 3622."
In a follow-up e-mail received on 20 February 2008 Marina wrote the following:
"Just a point of clarification on the interpretation of Greenacres. If the Body Corporate wants to proceed to trial, they may do so, and proceed until the trial has ended if the other side doesn't take the point. If the other side objects to the court action. the parties will be obliged to go to arbitration."
Thanks, Marina, for your continuous involvement in our Industry and with Nama!! We appreciate it!
REMEMBER to visit the NAMA Website and read the monthly Newsletter. Go to: www.namasa.co.za
CHANGES IN CONTACT DETAILS
Please remember to inform the National Secretary (and your regional secretary) of any changes iro your contact details e.g. Telephone number, Postal address and especially your e-mail address as most of communication is done via e-mail. Thanks for your co-operation in this regard.
LAUGHTER IS THE CLOSEST DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE (Unknown)
