Property Report – Tim Johnson

Exclusive Use Areas (EUA’s) often give rise to disputes in sectional title complexes and owners and prospective buyers need to make sure they understand them properly before committing to the purchase of such a unit.

EUA’s are essentially not ‘sections’ but actually portions of the common property that only one owner is entitled to use, and often they are garages, storerooms, gardens and balconies that are attached to specific sections.

Additionally, there are also common property areas within the scheme, usually gardens, balconies and parking areas which are jointly owned by all owners, can be used by all owners, and usually form part of the levies charged to all owners.

Exclusive use can either be entrenched by the developer when the sectional title complex is being built, or agreed upon by the body corporate (made up of all the section owners) at a later stage.

The right of exclusive use can be defined either as a ‘real’ right that is noted on the original sectional title plan registered at the deeds office, or as a ‘personal’ right that is granted when the body corporate creates a new rule for its specific sectional title scheme.

When a property owner begins the process of selling their property, they are required to inform the relevant estate agent and transfer attorney of the property ownership details.

This includes specifying which portion of land is owned, and declaring any areas over which the owner has exclusive use rights.

This information will then be included in a separate notarial cession and lodged along with the property transfer documents at the deeds office, resulting in a real right (exclusive use area) being ceded to the new owner.

Understanding what form it is becomes particularly important when dealing with the transfer of a sectional title property.

The Sectional Title Act provides for two mechanisms in terms of which an owner of a unit can become entitled to an exclusive use area.

The first mechanism is by virtue of a title deed registered at the deeds office. If it is a real right registered at the deeds office, it can be bonded and will need to be specified in the offer to purchase and formally ceded to the purchaser as part of the process of transfer handled by the conveyancer.

The second mechanism is by virtue of the rules of the body corporate, where the exclusive use area is allocated to a specific owner in terms of the body corporate rules.

To avoid any disastrous consequences, prospective purchasers of properties in sectional title schemes must request their attorneys to attend to a diligent search to ascertain if these EUA’s will be governed by virtue of title deeds, which must be sold with the unit, as certain owners are not aware that they are the owners of areas, or if the property is governed by body corporate rules.

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