Balconies, Patios And Porches In Sectional Title Schemes

Legal Status Of Balconies, Patios And Porches In Sectional Title Schemes

There is often confusion as to whether a balcony, porch or patio is classified as an Exclusive Use Area (“EUA”), common property or whether the balcony, porch or patio forms part of an owner’s section/unit.

The legal status of the balcony, porch or patio needs to be determined in order to ascertain if the Body Corporate or the unit owner is liable to maintain and repair same.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE BALCONY, PATIO OR PORCH IN TERMS OF THE SECTIONAL TITLES ACT 95 OF 1986 (“THE STA”), THE SECTIONAL TITLES SCHEMES MANAGEMENT ACT 8 OF 2011 (“THE STSMA”) AND PRESCRIBED MANAGEMENT RULES (“PMR”) OF THE STSMA

A sectional title scheme is made up of individually owned sections and common property. According to section 1 of the STSMA, owners in a sectional title scheme own the common property collectively in undivided shares in accordance with their participation quota.

Section 1 of the STMA defines a unit as “a section together with its undivided share in common property apportioned to that section in accordance with the quota of the section”. A balcony, patio or porch will not form part of a section if the solid line indicating the boundary of the section stops before the balcony, patio or porch area on the sectional plan.

If the balcony, patio or porch does not form part of the section, it is classified as common property. “A common property balcony, patio or porch” may be subject to exclusive use rights or may just be common property assigned in terms of the rules of the scheme.

As indicated above, EUA’s form part of the common property and section 1 of the STSMA stipulates that:

The Body Corporate is liable to repair and maintain the common property (including EUAs’) ( section 3(1)(i)).
Owners of sections are responsible for keeping their EUA’s in a clean and neat conditions (section 13(1)(c) of the STSMA).
Owners of sections are responsible for repairing and maintaining their own sections (section 13(1)(C) of the STSMA).

Additionally, Prescribed Management Rule 30 places a duty on the body corporate to ensure that owners/members comply with all laws in relation to their sections, EUA’s and the common property and do not use their sections, EUAs’ or the common property in such a way that will interfere with other owners.

‘Median Line’ Concept

It must be noted that the ‘median line’ concept as referred to in section 5(4) of the STA states that “the common boundary between any section and another section or common property shall be the median line of the dividing floor, wall or ceiling, as the case may be”.

This concept applies to sectional boundaries and prescribes that each owner owns his section to the midpoint of its floors, walls and ceilings.

As described above, one can tell whether the balcony, patio or porch is included in the section by checking the sectional plan.

In the situation where the sectional plan shows that the balcony, patio or porch forms part of the section, the balcony floors are part of the sections to the midpoint of the balcony floor.

Thus, the higher owner will own and be responsible for his balcony patio or porch floor, to the midpoint of that floor, while the underside of the balcony patio or porch (in this case the lower unit owner’s ceiling) forms part of the lower owner’s section and is the lower owner’s responsibility.

In this instance, there is no common property between the lower owner’s section and the section above.

Summary Conclusion

In summary and as indicted above, liability to repair and maintain a section falls on the section owner, but liability to repair and maintain common property (including EUA’s) falls on the body corporate.

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