Guides · Sectional title
Kenilworth is a suburb of contrasts: Victorian homes and early 1900s Arts and Crafts houses, some designed by Sir Herbert Baker, alongside pre-war apartment blocks with high ceilings near Main Road. It's also home to South Africa's oldest racecourse, where 52 hectares of the grounds are a conserved seasonal wetland. If you live in one of Kenilworth's flats, a burst geyser or a blocked drain raises a question a house owner never has to ask: whose problem is it?
The general rule in sectional title
In most sectional title schemes, the owner looks after their own section, and the body corporate looks after the common property. For plumbing, that usually means:
- Inside your flat: taps, toilets, basins and the pipes that serve only your unit are usually the owner's responsibility.
- Shared pipes and drains: soil stacks, shared sewer lines and main water pipes that serve several units are usually common property, so they're the body corporate's.
- Your geyser: even if it sits in a shared roof space, a geyser that serves only your flat is usually yours to maintain.
Every scheme's rules can differ, so check your conduct and management rules, or ask the managing agent, before you commission work.
How insurance usually works
In sectional title, the building is normally insured by the body corporate, not by each owner. A burst geyser and the damage it causes are usually claimed through the body corporate's policy, with an excess set by the scheme's rules. That's why the managing agent needs to know early.
Older blocks, older pipes
In a pre-war block, the shared pipework has usually been repaired and extended many times. A blockage in one flat can come from a shared stack, and a leak can show up two floors below where it starts. We find the actual cause before anyone pays for work, and the photographed report, recorded on site in our own app, shows the trustees exactly where the problem is and whose side of the line it falls on.
Houses in Kenilworth too
For Kenilworth's older houses, the usual issues are ageing geysers and wiring that has been extended over the decades. If you're selling, the electrical certificate is where these tend to show up.
Common questions
Who pays for a burst geyser in a sectional title flat?
Usually the claim goes through the body corporate's building insurance, with an excess set by the scheme's rules. Check your rules or ask the managing agent.
Who is responsible for a blocked drain in a block of flats?
If the blockage is in pipes that serve only your unit, it's usually the owner's. If it's in a shared stack or sewer line, it's usually the body corporate's.
Can you report to the trustees?
Yes. Our photographed report shows where the fault is, so the owner and trustees can agree who's responsible.