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November 2015
News
C
ameron promises that the
initiative will give social hous-
ing tenants the opportunity to
build a stake in society, and 1,3million
householders will receive substantial
discounts if they opt to buy.
Reacting to the Prime Minister’s
speech, Martin Clark, Deputy CEO of
Allia, a social profit organisation that
funds people, projects and housing
developments said: “Allia agrees
that it is important to encourage
people to build a stake in society. But
it is already widely accepted that a
discount of 20% from market values
- whether for sale or rent - does not
do enough to assist those on lower
incomes, especially inmore expensive
parts of the country. The only way
for government to create genuinely
affordable housing is firstly to make
public land available at a cost which
UK addresses housing backlog
Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that
government will give tenants of government housing the right to buy
their homes from next year.
I
n sectional titles schemes, if the
necessary precautions are not
taken or if the installation is not
done properly, this could affect other
residents negatively. Residents con-
sidering gas must remember that the
installation must be done by a certi-
fied professional. According to Mandi
Hanekom of Propell sectional title
finance company, a certificate of com-
pliance must be issued to the owner
of the residence after completion of a
gas installation, modification, altera-
tion or change of user or ownership.
“This means that even if a certifi-
cate was issued on the initial installa-
tion, if any improvement or alteration
has beenmade, a newcertificatemust
be obtained,” said Hanekom. The rea-
son for this being that there is always a
risk of fire, which could cause damage
to property and injury to residents.
The certificate confirms that the
installation is compliant with safety
regulations and that the appliance
and gas canisters are installed prop-
erly, and inspected to be safe and
leak-free. The only people authorised
to issue gas certificates of compliance
are those as defined in the regula-
tions.
“Many sectional title bodies corpo-
rate management rules will prohibit
any owner or occupier from storing
any material that is harmful, or will
prohibit any dangerous acts on the
property, and gas installations may in
many cases be included in this risk. In
turn, if there are ‘high-risk’ activities
or installations on the property, the
insurance premiums of the scheme
might be increased, which the body
corporate would want to avoid,” said
Hanekom.
When it comes to insurance, an ad-
ditional concernwould be that if a gas
installation is not compliant, then the
insurance companywill not pay out on
any claim. The financial implications
for owners and the scheme itself can
be disastrous.
“Before any gas installation is car-
ried out in a sectional title scheme,
the insurance requirements (both
homeowner and body corporate poli-
cies) should be checked to ensure that
there is cover if any gas related dam-
age takes place,” said Hanekom.
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Gas installations
in sectionals
With the rising costs of electricity
many people are becomingmore
conscious of alternative energy
solutions and many have opted
for gas.
allows low income families to start on
the property ladder; and secondly, to
create a planning category that zones
such public land for new affordable
housingdevelopments. Starter homes
need to be available on a ‘rent to buy’
basis as well as outright purchase, in
order to empower those who cannot
yet make the jump to 80% of market
prices.”
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