Running a Business?
Running a Business from Home in a sectional Title Scheme
A business from home can be defined as either a guesthouse, office space, or accommodation in most instances but manufacturing of products, baking, or even accounting work, are all considered as a business conducted in a residential section.
Apart from Regulation 30 ( c) (i) (ii) of the Schemes Management Act of 2011(under 'Use of sections and common property') which is very explicit about the unlawfulness of using a section in a scheme for any other purpose than conventional residential use, or, alternately contravention of a law or by law( licensing conditions and business rights), there has been a recent Supreme Court of Appeal judgment (City Council of Johannesburg versus Zibi and Others) that allows municipalities to impose penalties for contravention of zoning conditions.
Furthermore, if the local authority becomes aware of any business being run from a residential scheme, they can increase property rates by up to 300%. Essentially the Municipality can impose an inflated assessment rate by recategorizing the valuation roll.
On another note, if an owner wants to change the use of the property, they can do so with the permission of all owners in a scheme (unanimous) in terms of section 13 (1) (g) of the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act of 2011, however, these efforts usually are doomed to fail if just one neighbor feels prejudiced in anyway.
The Golden Rule, no business activities should be performed in a residentially zoned scheme under any circumstances.
De Lucia Group has been servicing the property industry for over 45 years. Contact us to ensure you get the best advice for all your property-related queries. Michael De Lucia - michaeldl@delucia.co.za.
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The information contained herein is not intended to constitute advice and shall only be relied upon by you at your own risk. De Lucia Group does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information posted in this newsletter or otherwise. Any information relied upon by you should be independently verified for accuracy. De Lucia Group reserves the right to change the content distributed or published without prior notice.
15 Jul 2022
Author De Lucia Group