It appears that issues relating to geyser replacement in a sectional title scheme have got more than one reader steamed up.
The typical scenario presented to our experts seems to be that there is insurance in place to cover the replacement of a burst geyser. However, the sectional title owner is then held responsible for the excess payable and/or any amount not covered by the policy.
One reader in particular feels that, in her instance, the scheme was underinsured for the cost of her geyser replacement and that the body corporate should pay the sum not covered. She is adamant that she should not be held liable for the shortfall.
The first step here is to discern where the responsibility for the geyser maintenance lies, says Rian du Toit from DTS Attorneys in Port Elizabeth.
“The Sectional Title Act states that the boundary between any two sections, or between a section and the common property, is the median line of the dividing floor, wall, or ceiling.”
Du Toit says anything falling within a section is the owner’s responsibility while any area outside the median line is regarded as common property and, as such, forms part of the body corporate’s responsibility.
“It would seem that, unless the geyser has been installed within the section itself, it should be the body corporate’s responsibility.”
However, this is not the case, says Du Toit, as the prescribed management rules make it absolutely clear that it is the owner’s duty to maintain the hot water installation serving his or her section – even if it is located outside the median line and on the common property.
“In most instances, the geyser cover will be carried by the body corporate under general building insurance. The owner will, nevertheless, have to pay the excess on any claim.”
It is, of course, up to the trustees of the body corporate to negotiate the terms of its short-term insurance, says Charlotte Vermaak from Chas Everitt in PE.
“These terms will include issues such as the amount of excess payable in the event of a claim. Generally speaking, premiums can be reduced if a higher excess is payable.”
Vermaak says it is therefore up to the owner of a section to make him or herself familiar with the terms of the insurance taken out by the body corporate.
“Unfortunately, the above considerations clearly indicate that any amount not covered by insurance will be for the section owner’s account and will not be the body corporate’s responsibility.”
According to Vermaak, it may well be the case that the geyser was not underinsured but that a lower premium was deliberately negotiated at the expense of inflated excess costs.
“This could result in a higher amount being payable by the section owners.”
