Update on proposed amendments to Section 118 of the new Municipal Systems Act



Proposed amendments to Section 118 of the new Municipal Systems Act legalising the requirement of municipal clearance certificates for transfers of all sectional title units will now only be applied to units receiving municipal services direct from a local authority. It will not be applied to those sectional title units receiving their services via body corporates, according to Peter Nathan of Johannesburg-based Sectional Title Services. Nathan says a “person very close to the source of power” has reliably informed him that the original intention to include all sectional title units had now been scrapped. Nathan's sources claim the decision was made after realisation by the authorities of the inequities it would create in the sectional title market. The change of heart by the authorities will be welcomed by estate agents and other stake holders who predicted the sectional title market grinding to a halt if the proposed amendment had embraced all units in this market. Nathan, to the best of his knowledge, was only aware of "some very much older units" being affected by the proposed amendment in Roodepoort and Pretoria among Gauteng's municipalities. He knew of none being affected in Johannesburg. According to Nathan's source the Act will be amended this year and will only be enforced once promulgated by the Registrars of Deeds. Rodney Hayter - The Property Professional Online - January 2002