Our panel has received an e-mail from a reader who has been a tenant in a sectional title complex for more than three years.
She says when she moved in there were no rules that forbade the owning or the visiting of people with pets.
Certain members of the body corporate have now decided that her parents, who bring their two small, well-trained Pomeranian dogs along when they visit, may no longer do so.
She says this was only communicated in the monthly newsletter and is not included in the official “house rules”.
Her landlord, she says, has no problem with the dogs and she wants to know what her rights are.
Lucille Geldenhuys from Lucille Geldenhuys Attorneys in Stellenbosch says, in terms of Section 35(1) of the Sectional Titles Act No 95 of 1986, sectional title schemes are managed and controlled by rules. “The standard conduct rules state that an owner or occupier may only keep pets if he or she obtains written permission from the trustees.”
She says trustees may not unreasonably withhold their consent, but they may impose certain conditions or restrictions. “If the owner or occupier does not comply with these conditions, consent may be withdrawn.”
Geldenhuys says the act states that the duties of the owner in relation to the use and occupation of sections and common property will be binding on the owner as well as any lessee or other occupant.
According to her, it is the duty of the owner to ensure compliance with the rules by his or her lessee or occupant, including their employees, guests and family members.
“Owners may also decide to include a rule that addresses the question of visitors,” says Geldenhuys. “Such a rule may, among other things, restrict the number of visitors, the length of their stay as well as whether they may bring pets along.”
Schalk van der Merwe from Rawson Properties Helderberg says should there be special circumstances surrounding a visitor’s stay, it will be necessary for the owners or occupiers to approach the trustees for whatever permission may be necessary.
“If one assumes that the scheme where the reader resides is controlled by the standard rules, whereby it is necessary to obtain the permission of the trustees to keep pets, it would have been a requirement for her to obtain permission for her parents to bring along their pets.”
Van der Merwe says the fact that permission was granted in the past, or if no objections were raised against the dogs if no prior permission was obtained, will not prevent the trustees from refusing permission in the future.
“The reader states the body corporate ‘suddenly decided’ that her parents may no longer bring their dogs along. It may therefore very likely be that complaints were received from other owners and that this matter was dealt with at the annual general meeting, where the decision to impose the restriction was taken.”
Even though the reader feels that the dogs are well-trained, it may be that the other owners and occupiers were disturbed by their presence, says Van der Merwe.
“Although it is possible that an owner or occupier is unreasonably sensitive, the fact of the matter is that their rights as owners or occupiers will weigh more heavily than those of a visitor.”
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