Page 72 - Q&A 2019/2020

instituting action on behalf of the body corporate.
The Constitutional Court looked at the wording of Section 9 and whether it was
an infringement of an individual owner in the scheme’s constitutional right to
freely institute legal action in a court of law. The court concluded that Section
9 is a justified limitation on such owner’s constitutional right to institute legal
action in a court of law and that Section 9 is to protect the body corporate
against unnecessary claims on its behalf, which are without merit.
What this means is that an individual owner can institute action on behalf of the
body corporate, but will have to comply with the provisions of section 9 of the
STSMA and will have to follow the correct notice procedures and applications.
Given the above, it would therefore be wise to discuss any proposed course
of legal action with your attorney first and consider approaching your body
corporate formally with a complaint before embarking on legal action. Property

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