Unruly Behaviour

Property Questions And Answers

I have accomodate extra family members in my unit due to a life threathening situation that occured about 1 and half months ago when they got held up and robbed at home, luvkily they did not hurt the women or shoot any one.

I have infomed a trustee of the situtaion when my family members moved in as stated that they will be looking for altrenative residency but time is the issue and since then infaltion has hit SA hard and has put a dampener in most peoples pockets but never the less they are still looking.

A few weeks a go THE AGM was held which i did not attend. Last week i recieve a letter dictating that there are too many people in my unit and that is causing strain on complex as the water bill has increased and the amounts tabled as my debt for which i was ordered to pay or go to abotration. Further they also want us to pay for the use of the visitors parking at double the rate of renting a covered locked garage (common property)

Yes i do have too many people, 11 but over the years i built in 2 lofts that currently catters for the numbers, IT's not right to have too many people in one unit even i agree but the situation must be taken into consideration and they are looking for a place-

I have approached one of the trustees and stated/informed her of the situation and agreed that the water can be accomodate but not the parking as it is common property and all tenants and owners also use the parking but if they want me to pay for the parking then i cannot pay for the past use but the future use and that parking will have to be reserved for my use only.

My Problem is i know that i am wrong but i have been threathend via the body corpoarate in writing basicialy pay up or go to abitration-to me that is wrong after me informing one of the trustees of the situation.

2ndly do i chase my family on the street, All human beings should be respected, this is not a permenat residence for my family as it is mine,

guidance

Article posted by 8926 on 2008-07-28 23:53:37 (viewed 247 times). Unruly Behaviour has scored 0 so far!
Owner
Read all about Real Estate Information here.

Too many people

You give very little info in your question. How long have these visitors been living in your section? Do the rules restrict the number of occupants? Etc. But I'll try and answer anyway.

The body corporate (which includes you, by the way, if you own a section) can restrict the number of occupants of a section when the rules include a condition in that regards. If you know that your visitors exceed the limit, you are in the wrong and you need to rectify the situation immediately. And it doesn't matter how much you improved your section.

If, however there's no rule limiting the number of occupants (which is very unlikely), you can go to arbitration with a light heart, because then the Body Corporate cannot dictate how many folks sleep in your section.

As for the common property parking, it is there for infrequent use by visitors and owners. If your visitors have been making constant use of the parking spots in question, then the other owners are good and well within their rights to complain.

Crime and the consequences of crime in South Africa are real and horrible facts of life for many of us. But you and your visitors have to understand that your personal situations do not supersede the interests of the other owners - no matter how sad your stories are.

If you are breaking the rules by accommodating these (semi-permanent, it seems) visitors, you need to make other arrangements. It seems as though you are of the opinion that you have the right to infringe on fellow section owners' rights as a result of some criminal's infringement of your visitors' rights. That just doesn't fly.