South Africa’s stock of sectional title buildings is aging and many need to be demolished or radically renovated. But the Sectional Titles Act makes it almost impossible to get owners to agree, warns Neville Schaefer, Chairman of national property managers Trafalgar.

“The Sectional Title Act has been a law for 35 year, but the lawmakers don’t seem to have allowed for buildings gettin old and decrepit,” he adds

“Demolition needs 100% of owners to agree as does what is called luxurious improvements,” notes Schaefer. “Other major renovation needs at least 75% of votes at a special meeting.”

Many old buildings are in serious decline. And these are not only in the poor or distressed inner city areas.

Schaefer says that in most cases a building with a single owner or some partners would respond to market changes and sell or redevelop.

But many sectional title buildings have elderly owners in them, or even younger ones who have limited money and a great resistance to any change. They would automatically oppose radical action. He says owners or banks who have given home loans to owners could apply to court to appoint an administrator who would have the necessary power to make a decision to demolish. But he doubts a court would agree to the appointment for that purpose if the building is financially sound and adequately managed.

“Another solution could be for a municipality to declare a building unsafe of unhygienic and order its demolition or expropriate it where the land is worth more than the units.”

Schaefer says all cities have these buildings. “Age isn’t the only criterion,” says Schaefer. “Many 80 year old blocks of flats are in excellent condition – they knew how to build them then. The biggest problems appear to be postwar blocks built with inferior materials and sloppily erected flats and townhouses in the 1980s.”

There are also properties built on what was secondary land 30 years ago but with the growth of cities has become prime land that should be redeveloped. Often the land is worth more than the combined market value of the building sections. And the land use around them has changed so that they limit the proper redevelopment of an area.

For instance, Draper Square in Claremont, Cape Town, has 28 sectional title offices of 80m2 each built in 1983 on a 2 300m2 stand. They are worth about R400 000 each – a total value of about R11m.  But the stand has use right’s for 12 000m2 with a development value of R2 500m2 a m2 of rights, making it worth R30m says Schaefer. And Draper Square’s right of way over municipal land is preventing development of a further 10 000 to 20 000m2.

“Our lawmakers should consider allowing a simple majority vote where buildings are very old and in bad condition,” says Schaefer. “But I can’t think how you could regulate that to avoid abuse. It is going to become a major problem as the years go on.”

---- ENDS ----

For further information please contact Neville Schaefer on 031  301 7017 / 083 399 9908 / This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.