DURBAN - Last year the government passed two property based pieces of legislation.
The pieces of legislation are:
1. Community Schemes Ombudsman Act (CSOS)
2. Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act (STSMA)
The impact of the new laws have been mostly felt by the residents that live in complexes and other sectional title units especially in the amounts that the residents are expected to pay each month.
BusinessTech spoke to many legal and property experts to calculate exactly how much more you are paying.
For the Community Schemes Ombudsman Act residents have to pay R40 per month and R480 in a year.
Justine Krige of Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, a legal firm, classic examples of community schemes include sectional title development schemes, share block companies, home or property associations and life right development schemes for people who are retired.
Krige said "Shared responsibility for land and buildings can sometimes be fraught with conflict, and the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) aims to resolve disputes efficiently and cost-effectively".
In regards to the s29(1)(b) of the Act certain fees are payable by schemes to the CSOS. Regulation 2(1) provides that schemes must accumulate the prescribed monthly levy from every unit with the community scheme and pay the levies to the CSOS every four months.
"Although not defined, a sensible interpretation of the Act is that units include, amongst others, a section in a sectional title scheme, a house in a housing development or a unit in a life right scheme" said Krige.
Even though the amounts are collected monthly from each unit by the scheme they are payable every three months to the CSOS at the end of January, March, September and December.
People that are excluded form paying the CSS levy are people that have a levy that is less than R500 and people that have an in come less than R5500 may apply for partial or complete exemption.