Property Terminology - The Median Line

October 2, 2024 Physical Management, Sectional Title Management

By Ané de Klerk

Post 7 October 2016, when the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act (“the STSMA”) came into operation, one might be inclined to think that the Sectional Titles Act of 1986 (“the STA”) is no longer relevant to the management of sectional titles schemes. You may even have heard that the current version of the STA is only of importance to conveyancers and that trustees and managing agents should pay little attention to it, but this would be a grave mistake as the STA still holds some important keys to sectional titles schemes management. One of which is the explanation of one of the most important concepts in the industry: the median line.

Should you do a word search on a copy of the STSMA saved on your computer, you won’t find any reference to the median line. That is because this concept is unpacked in Section 5 of the STA instead.

What is it?

It is an imaginary line which separates different types of property in the scheme. It separates sections from one another and also sections from the scheme’s common property.

It is not a literal, visible line that has been drawn or otherwise indicated on the property itself, but must instead be visualised, running midway through the item or structure that is dividing the sections from one another and the section(s) from the common property.

Where is it situated?

The median line runs midway through the dividing floor, wall and ceiling of every section. Windows, doors and other structures which divide a section from another section or from common property are considered to be part of the floors, walls or ceilings which they have been attached to. Therefore the median line also runs through the middle of these windows, doors and structures.

What does this mean?

On one side of this imaginary line is the section, which could be a primary section (such as an apartment or office) or utility section (such as a garage or store room), owned fully by the individual or legal person (such as a company, cc or trust) in whose name the section is registered in the Deeds Registry.

On the other side of the median line is either another section or the scheme’s common property, such as hallways inside the scheme or gardens outside, jointly owned by the owners of sections in undivided shares proportional to the participation quotas of their respective sections. Remember that common property subjected to exclusive use rights remains common property in nature.

Practically, this means that the legal nature of the dividing structures (a section’s floors, ceilings and outer walls, including all windows, doors, sliding doors, etc that have been fitted in those walls) are 50% what is on one side of it and 50% what is on the other.

Some practical examples include that:

• the outer 50% of a section’s front door is common property, while the inner 50% thereof is part of the section;
• the lower 50% of the ceiling of a penthouse apartment is part of the section, while the upper 50% and the roof infrastructure above the ceiling is common property;
• A wall situated between sections A and B is considered 50% part of section A and 50% part of section B (the part of the wall attributed to the section is the part facing it).

Why is it important?

The reason it is important to have the median line indicate where one type of property starts and another begins is because the legal nature of the property determines who is responsible for its management, maintenance and insurance. Generally speaking (there are some exceptions), the owner of a section is responsible for its management, maintenance, repairs and insurance, while it is the body corporate that must manage, maintain, repair and insure the common property.

Looking at our practical examples above, this means that:

• the part of the front door facing the outside must be painted by the body corporate, while the part of the front door facing the inside of the section must be painted by the owner of that section;
• the part of the ceiling that can be seen from inside the section must be painted by the owner of the section, while the roof trusses and roof tiles must be maintained, repaired and painted by the body corporate;
• owner A is responsible for painting and waterproofing the wall in their bathroom, while their neighbour who owns section B, situated on the other side of that bathroom wall, is responsible for waterproofing and painting their side of the same wall.

Maintenance is undoubtedly one of the aspects of sectional titles schemes management that attracts the most disputes. Fully understanding the concept of median line and applying it correctly can go a long way in preventing and properly dealing with such disputes. Should you wish to learn more about this concept and other fundamentals like it, consider signing up for our Introduction to Sectional Titles Schemes Management online short course or email [email protected] to learn more about our range of education and training offerings.

Courtesy: The Advisory - Community Schemes Specialists

Specialist Community Scheme Attorney (BA, LLB), Ané de Klerk, is a Director of The Advisory, a boutique consultancy specialising exclusively in community schemes law. Her focus is legal education, which includes presenting seminars and running online and in-person training programs and courses. You can reach out to her via email at [email protected] to request an obligation-free quotation for assistance with better understanding the median line in sectional title schemes.

FOR FUTHER INFORMATION:

Visit: www.theadvisory.co.za, or 

Email: [email protected] 

TAGS: body corporate maintenance, maintenance of doors and windows, median line, sectional title