An interesting discussion was held on the Paddocks Club website (www.paddocksclub.co.za)
It is often a concern that new owners and tenants move into sectional title schemes with pets in contravention of the rules of the body corporate.
It is therefore important that the buyer give the estate agent a copy of the Body Corporate rules and Estate Agents should in turn inform the prospective buyers of these rules. Unfortunately that does not always happen – Estate Agents have often been accused of trying anything and telling prospective buyers what they want to hear just to get the sale through and get the commission.
As Managing Agents we only become aware of a sale when levy clearance is requested.
The suggestions made by Prof Graham Paddock and other subscribers to the Paddocks Club being the following:
• a Body Corporate could create a rule empowering the trustees and Managing Agent to withhold a levy clearance certificate until the purchaser confirms in writing that he or she has read and understood the scheme’s rules in general and the pet rule in particular
• at the entrance to a Sectional Title scheme put a notice stating “NO UNAUTHORISED PETS.”
