Page 70 - Q&A.indd

received and then charge Argent Industrial only the average amount
for water consumption for the period March 2012 to March 2015.
Herewith the court effectively found in favour or Argent Industrial and
determined that their debt older than three years was written off in
accordance with the Prescription Act.
This finding therefore supports your view that the municipality cannot
charge you for 10 years of outstanding water readings of which you
were not aware. It is our advice that you consult with your attorney to
investigate the matter in detail and advise you of your rights taking into
account this recent decision.

Can my outdoor spa land me in hot water with
the body corporate?

February 2017

“My wife and I recently moved into a sectional title unit. We
used to have an outdoor spa at our previous house and would
like to put one in again, but we are not sure what the rules of
sectional titles schemes are when it comes to installing spa
baths? Do I need permission or can I just continue?”

Before installing a spa bath or Jacuzzi in your sectional title unit, you
should consider the following. Firstly, it is important to distinguish
Property whether the area you wish to install the spa bath on forms part of the
common property of the sectional title scheme or forms part of your
section. A sectional title unit is defined as a section together with its
undivided share in the common property.

The common property is owned jointly by all the sectional owners
within the scheme, is controlled by the body corporate and is made
freely accessible to all the sectional title owners. A sectional owner who
has a right to the exclusive use of a demarcated area of the common
property, may however exclude other sectional owners from exercising
rights on that part of the common property. Improvements to such an
exclusive use area require the consent of the trustees, which may not
be withheld without good reason.

Should your spa be placed inside your section, then, subject to any
scheme rules that may require such consent to be obtained, there is
no general requirement to obtain consent from the body corporate.
Should the spa however affect the electrical or water supply or require
alterations to the plumbing or electrical installations of the scheme or
possibly have an impact on other sections, the consent of the body
corporate will probably be needed.

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