Recent amendments to the Sectional Titles Act of 1986, were published in the Government Gazette on 28 September 2011.

Annexure 8 of the Act, being the prescribed management rules, was amended and these amendments will, I am sure, be welcomed by managing agents and trustees alike.

One such amendment is the insertion of rule 31 (2A), which states that the budget of the body corporate shall run concurrent with the financial year of the scheme. This, in turn, led to the amendment of rule 36 (1) which now provides for the trustees to prepare the budget, prior to year-end, and to lay this budget before the members at the AGM. Whereas in the past may budgets were ‘on hold’ until the AGM was held and the budget approved by the members, sometimes causing strains on the cash flow of the body corporate.

Another amendment, which will certainly save time, costs and, importantly, resources is the substitution of rule 39, which now allows for the delivery of documents by means of facsimile or email, provided the owner consents in writing to receiving same. This means that, inter alia, the paper and postage intensive annual notice and supporting documents for the AGM may now be issued in a digital format, whereas in the past this had to be issued by prepaid post, if the owner consents thereto.

I foresee, in a scheme where all owners consent, to not only saving costs and resources, but also to ensuring timeous delivery by using delivery confirmations. One could even go so far as to use the email software to notify members of the meeting and to remind them of same.

Trustees and members of sectional title body corporates should also be aware of the deletion of sub rule 31 (4), which dealt with the application of special contributions [special levies] and, in turn, make themselves au fait with sections 37 (2A) and 37 (2B) of the Act which provide for the Trustees to raise and collect special contributions.