Short-term letting in South Africa: Navigating body corporate rules and regulations

With short-term letting and, more specifically, Airbnbs ramping up in South Africa, disgruntled owners and tenants are voicing their concerns when it comes to short-term letting properties contained in complexes, estates and apartment blocks.

While freehold property owners can act freely, sectional title property owners are bound by a different set of laws.

Complaints around noise, parking, damage to property and, most importantly, security in sectional title buildings are ongoing.

Body corporates have begun to implement short-term letting rules and new regulations may force owners to adopt a long-term letting strategy in future.

Complaints and concerns relate to a small minority of short-term rental properties.

We do still strongly encourage short-term letting as a positive investment strategy and with interest rates at a multiyear low, we do foresee more short-term rentals coming to market.

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The rules and regulations

We have, however, unpacked the rules and regulations of short-term letting within a sectional title building to bring further clarity to the process and any actions that may be taken in the event of mishaps.

Under the Sectional Titles Management Act, property owners are obligated to inform the body corporate when they lease out their units and the owners must ensure that tenants receive – and adhere to – the scheme’s conduct rules.

A body corporate has the authority to establish and amend rules that govern the use of individual units and common areas.

Body corporates may choose to impose a minimum lease period – such as six months – or ban short-term rentals entirely (in rare cases).

However, these rules must be reasonable, applied equally to all property owners and be approved by the Community Schemes Ombud Service.

In addition to rental restrictions, body corporates may also implement strict record-keeping and rule dissemination policies.

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Due diligence

At a municipal level, specific bylaws and regulations can influence the operation of short-term rentals.

It is therefore important that property owners clearly understand their zoning restrictions and whether they require special permission.

Beyond municipal and body corporate regulations, new regulations by government are underway to further regulate short-term letting in South Africa.

These regulations may include mandatory registration, adherence to health and safety standards and the payment of hospitality taxes.

While these rules and regulations may sound daunting, mishaps and aggravated cases are the exception – not the rule.

The majority of landlords welcome well-informed, well-behaved guests to the premises but, in reality, there are still some guests who will not understand – or adhere to – body corporate rules and may compromise security if not properly screened.

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These are my top tips for landlords looking to embark on a short-term letting venture:

• Open lines of communication: The biggest issue in cases like these is a lack of communication. Be open, engaging and transparent in your dealings with your body corporate so that you can work together;
• Have a firm understanding of the rules: If you haven’t already, carefully examine the scheme’s management and conduct rules to understand any restrictions on short-term letting;
• Stay informed: Keep up to date with any changes in legislation, scheme rules and bylaws to understand how these may affect your short-term letting strategy; and
• Tenant collaboration: Where possible and prior to accepting a booking, make sure that you have checked your tenant’s previous letting history. Also ensure that they understand the rules upfront and that these are clearly communicated in a way that’s easy to digest.

Rather than copying and pasting the body corporate rules, I suggest including bite-sized snippets such as “Parking in bay 1 only. Visitors to park in visitor’s bays and permission to be requested to the landlord prior to arrival.”

Owning a short-term rental property remains an exciting opportunity and with the right management, it can be highly successful, despite evolving regulations.

While security and other concerns are valid, staying proactive, informed and hands-on in the process is key to ensuring a smooth and profitable experience.

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