Understanding the nuances of buying duets or duplexes

Two sectional title units registered on one erf, are usually referred to as a duet or sectional title duplex. In practice, the two owners usually divide or separate the two properties by a boundary wall/fence and it may seem to a prospective buyer or estate agent like a freestanding property.

Valuators often valuate a duet on the same methodology of a freestanding property and measure the common property or exclusive use area as part of the square metres of the one unit, which is not the correct.

A sectional title unit is only measured by the square metres of the inside of the unit – that is, from wall to wall. The garden or all other areas outside of the building are either common property jointly owned by the owners or seen as an exclusive use area specifically allocated to a unit and so registered at the Deeds Office.

All sectional title schemes must have a body corporate according to the Sectional Titles Act and every owner of a unit is deemed to be a member of the body corporate and is bound by the body corporate’s rules. A member cannot resign from a body corporate.

Property owners are often of the view in the case of a duet that no body corporate exists and that the two owners share simply the rates and taxes account. This is not correct and no sectional title scheme, including duets, can function or exist without a body corporate having been registered. On date of registration of transfer of the first unit in a duet, the body corporate comes into existence.

In practice, the body corporate exists, but has not been managed in accordance with the Sectional Titles Act. In terms of Section 17(3)(a) of the Sectional Titles Act, a conveyancer must issue a certificate confirming that on date of registration, when a body corporate was deemed to be established in terms of section 38 of the act, that the body corporate has certified that all moneys due to the body corporate by the transferor have been paid or provision for such payment has been made.

Prospective buyers should be aware of buying a unit in a dysfunctional body corporate or a duet where the owner of the other unit is not paying monies due to the local authority and it might prejudice the new owners if they decide to sell their unit.
A clearance certificate can be obtained from the local authority with supporting affidavits from all owners that no monies due to the body corporate are payable and that the members are aware of their duties in terms of the Sectional Titles Act.