Proposed amendments to the Sectional Titles Act probably unconstitutional – AfriBusiness

29 October 2015

The proposed concept regulations that may seriously handicap sectional title owners financially, will most probably not pass the constitutional test, as many house owners, especially lower income owners, will simply not be able to afford it – and may therefore lose their homes.

This is the opinion of Stefan Pieterse, National Spokesperson for AfriBusiness, following Minister of Human Settlements, Lindiwe Sisulu’s proposed regulations to the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act that were published in the government gazette in October.

“Owners in complexes for low income groups can barely pay their levies, let alone additional levies. If it is expected of owners to suddenly pay more, it could mean that owners lose their homes simply because they cannot pay the increased levies,” Pieterse said.

At the end of the week, AfriBusiness will deliver a memorandum to the minister to outline all objections against the proposed changes, and wants to encourage all role-players in the sectional title industry to do the same before the deadline of 2 November 2015.

“It is crucial to exhaust all your internal remedies if you plan on fighting an act or regulation’s constitutionality later – and that is exactly what we plan on doing,” Pieterse concluded.

Statement issued by Stefan Pieterse, National Spokesperson, AfriBusiness, 29 October 2015