Asked by BigEd777 on 22-09-2015 13:00:06
Question posted in the Property Law category relating to Gauteng
Question posted in the Property Law category relating to Gauteng
Good afternoon
We stay in sub title house in a retirement estate in Midstream Estates
We have been staying here for the last five years and the levies have increased by each yer by 12% to 15%.
The HOA have been appointed by the developers and they have a board of directors where 4 of the developers are included.The common gardens have been watered three times a week in summe, and now the HOA have notified that there is no money in the budget to water the gardens so ofteb anymore. Can they just change the schedule and advise in the weekly general news letter.
A herb garden was established for the residents to use from day one. Now they have given one resident the right to remove the herbs and plant vegetables and then we have to buy the vegetables from him. The veggie garden is watered regularly.
From day one there wwere Liquart trees . The fruit to be enjoyed by all residents. Now we have o ask the veggetable garden resident if we may pick fruit or not. This seem to be very unfair.
How can the levies increase and then stop some of the services.
We have heard rumours that the water and electricity bills for the common ares have not been paid for eight months.
We are now using our own water that we pay for in the house to water the little gardens around our house.
There are so many unfair situations at our estate, how can we resolve all of this.
Many thanks
We stay in sub title house in a retirement estate in Midstream Estates
We have been staying here for the last five years and the levies have increased by each yer by 12% to 15%.
The HOA have been appointed by the developers and they have a board of directors where 4 of the developers are included.The common gardens have been watered three times a week in summe, and now the HOA have notified that there is no money in the budget to water the gardens so ofteb anymore. Can they just change the schedule and advise in the weekly general news letter.
A herb garden was established for the residents to use from day one. Now they have given one resident the right to remove the herbs and plant vegetables and then we have to buy the vegetables from him. The veggie garden is watered regularly.
From day one there wwere Liquart trees . The fruit to be enjoyed by all residents. Now we have o ask the veggetable garden resident if we may pick fruit or not. This seem to be very unfair.
How can the levies increase and then stop some of the services.
We have heard rumours that the water and electricity bills for the common ares have not been paid for eight months.
We are now using our own water that we pay for in the house to water the little gardens around our house.
There are so many unfair situations at our estate, how can we resolve all of this.
Many thanks
Message from the Lawyer
Posted by Att. Patrick on 22-09-2015 14:38:17
Hi there and thank you for your question,
The trustees of the HOA are appointed by the members of the HOA to manage the estate. They therefore have certain powers, and one of those powers would most probably be "to ensure that the estate is properly looked after and maintained", which would include deciding on when the grass is to be watered. More often than not the developer is one of the trustees, and normally takes quite a "vocal" stand in the trustee meetings.
Q: Can they just change the schedule and advise in the weekly general news letter? --> The short answer is "yes". They've got wide powers to properly manage the estate. If you think that they are not doing their job, the members of the HOA have the power to have the trustees of the HOA removed, and to elect new trustees.
Q: A herb garden was established for the residents to use from day one. Now they have given one resident the right to remove the herbs and plant vegetables and then we have to buy the vegetables from him. The veggie garden is watered regularly. --> This doesn't sound right. You should raise this with the trustees at the next HOA meeting, specifically the resolution / minutes of the meeting where this decision was taken. Essentially, that resident is benefitting from growing vegetables on common property and selling them at a profit. You should raise this.
Q: How can the levies increase and then stop some of the services? --> Typically the members of the HOA will vote at the AGM on the percentage that the levies must be increased by each year. They can also vote on the adoption of a budget for the year moving forwards. You should ask the trustees for a copy of the budget, and also the minutes of the meetings where the levies increase was discussed.
We have heard rumours that the water and electricity bills for the common ares have not been paid for eight months --> If that's the case, then you should ask the trustees to call a special general meeting to address this issue. First, is it true. Second, why has this come about. Third, how to fix it.
We are now using our own water that we pay for in the house to water the little gardens around our house --> That's quite normal, as your garden is your responsibility. The common property is the responsibility of the HOA.
Q: There are so many unfair situations at our estate, how can we resolve all of this? --> Write a letter to the trustees calling for an urgent special general meeting to be held. Write an agenda of ALL of the issues that you want dealt with. Circulate the agenda to all residents. Put pressure on the trustees to hold the meeting and to deal with all of the issues raised.
If there is a part of the answer which you need more advice on, or clarity please continue in this same thread instead of opening a new question.
Att. Patrick
Please remember this is a dialog if you have follow up questions please use the REPLY button and ask. If I did not answer the question you thought you were asking, please respond with the specific question you wanted answered. I hope you found my answer helpful, and you have finished asking your questions, please click on the GREEN ACCEPT button in order to mark the question as closed.
The trustees of the HOA are appointed by the members of the HOA to manage the estate. They therefore have certain powers, and one of those powers would most probably be "to ensure that the estate is properly looked after and maintained", which would include deciding on when the grass is to be watered. More often than not the developer is one of the trustees, and normally takes quite a "vocal" stand in the trustee meetings.
Q: Can they just change the schedule and advise in the weekly general news letter? --> The short answer is "yes". They've got wide powers to properly manage the estate. If you think that they are not doing their job, the members of the HOA have the power to have the trustees of the HOA removed, and to elect new trustees.
Q: A herb garden was established for the residents to use from day one. Now they have given one resident the right to remove the herbs and plant vegetables and then we have to buy the vegetables from him. The veggie garden is watered regularly. --> This doesn't sound right. You should raise this with the trustees at the next HOA meeting, specifically the resolution / minutes of the meeting where this decision was taken. Essentially, that resident is benefitting from growing vegetables on common property and selling them at a profit. You should raise this.
Q: How can the levies increase and then stop some of the services? --> Typically the members of the HOA will vote at the AGM on the percentage that the levies must be increased by each year. They can also vote on the adoption of a budget for the year moving forwards. You should ask the trustees for a copy of the budget, and also the minutes of the meetings where the levies increase was discussed.
We have heard rumours that the water and electricity bills for the common ares have not been paid for eight months --> If that's the case, then you should ask the trustees to call a special general meeting to address this issue. First, is it true. Second, why has this come about. Third, how to fix it.
We are now using our own water that we pay for in the house to water the little gardens around our house --> That's quite normal, as your garden is your responsibility. The common property is the responsibility of the HOA.
Q: There are so many unfair situations at our estate, how can we resolve all of this? --> Write a letter to the trustees calling for an urgent special general meeting to be held. Write an agenda of ALL of the issues that you want dealt with. Circulate the agenda to all residents. Put pressure on the trustees to hold the meeting and to deal with all of the issues raised.
If there is a part of the answer which you need more advice on, or clarity please continue in this same thread instead of opening a new question.
Att. Patrick
Please remember this is a dialog if you have follow up questions please use the REPLY button and ask. If I did not answer the question you thought you were asking, please respond with the specific question you wanted answered. I hope you found my answer helpful, and you have finished asking your questions, please click on the GREEN ACCEPT button in order to mark the question as closed.
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