SECTIONAL TITLE OWNERSHIP

The concept ‘sectional title’ describes the separate ownership of units or sections within a complex or development. Purchasing a property into a sectional title complex, you purchase a section or sections together with an undivided share of the common property, which are known as units. A sectional title unit may refer to anything from a mini subtype house, a semi-detached house, a townhouse, a flat or apartment.
Ownership of sectional title property involves a number of elements, bearing in mind that the unit consists of a section plus an undivided share in the common property. The first element is the section, which is exclusively owned by the owner thereof. The second element is the common property, which is owned by all the owners in undivided shares, meaning that you become a joint owner of the common property of the sectional title scheme. The third possible element is the right to exclusively use certain parts of the common property for example a garden parking or a storeroom. Even though the owner does not own the exclusive use area, he is the only person that has the right of use it.
The Sectional Title Act of South Africa adopts the exclusive technique of defining the common property as comprising of: (1) the land included in the scheme ; (2) all parts of the building or buildings not included in a section; and (3) any other added land where the scheme has been extended. The statutory definition of common property under the Sectional Property Act of Kenya, 1987 Part 1 section 3 defines common property as meaning so much of a parcel as is not comprised in a unit shown in a sectional plan. The common property can comprise of facilities such as play areas for children, gyms, parking, swimming pools, stairways, roofs, e.t.c