Updated · General information, not advice · TitanDC
A freehold house: everything is yours
Own a standalone house and the structure, the fittings and the contents are all your responsibility. Buildings cover and contents cover are usually separate sections of the same policy, and a bond holder will generally insist on the buildings half.
- Buildings: the structure, roof, fixed fittings, walls, gates and usually the pool
- Contents: everything you would take with you if you moved
- All risks: items you carry off the property, such as a laptop or jewellery
- Liability: cover for amounts you become legally liable to pay, for example to someone injured on your property
A sectional title unit: the scheme insures the buildings
You own your section and an undivided share in the common property. The body corporate manages the scheme and must insure the buildings and improvements to common property for their full replacement value, funded by your levies. That buildings cover includes the sections and the permanent fixtures in them. You insure your movable contents and your own liability.
- The scheme’s policy: the buildings, including the sections, permanent fixtures, common areas and common services
- You: movable contents and personal liability
- You: an all-risks section for what leaves the property with you
- Tell the managing agent about renovations, so the replacement value recorded for your unit keeps up; the extra premium is yours
- Ask the managing agent for the policy schedule — you are entitled to know what you are funding
Where the boundary actually falls
The sectional plan defines a section by the median line of its walls, floors and ceilings. That boundary decides who owns and maintains an item; it does not by itself decide which policy insures it. These are the items worth checking.
- Geysers: insured on the scheme’s policy, but the owner must maintain and replace the one serving their section, and carries the excess on damage to parts they must maintain
- Built-in cupboards, kitchen units and fixed sanitary fittings: the owner maintains them, but they generally form part of the building the scheme insures
- Internal non-structural walls: within the section, and generally part of the insured building
- Windows and external doors: commonly the scheme’s, but not always
- Balconies, exclusive-use areas and carports: depends entirely on the plan and the rules
- Floor coverings and finishes: treated differently from scheme to scheme, so check the policy schedule and the rules
What owners commonly get wrong
These are the gaps that appear at claim time, and each of them is avoidable on a quiet afternoon.
- Insuring the building again, and paying twice for cover the levy already funds
- Assuming the scheme’s policy covers the movable contents of the flat — it does not
- Renovating without asking for the unit’s recorded replacement value to be increased
- Never checking the scheme’s sum insured, then sharing the shortfall through a special levy
- Holding no personal liability cover because "the scheme has liability cover" — that one covers the common property
- Letting a bond holder’s requirement go unanswered because nobody knows which policy applies
Common questions
Do I need buildings insurance in a sectional title scheme?+
Generally no. The body corporate is legally required to insure the buildings and improvements to common property, funded by levies, and that cover includes the sections and their permanent fixtures. You insure your movable contents and your personal liability, and ask for your unit’s replacement value to be increased after improvements.
Does the body corporate insure my kitchen cupboards?+
Generally yes. Built-in kitchen cupboards form part of the building the body corporate insures. Check the policy’s definition of buildings and the value recorded for your unit, especially after a renovation. Your responsibility for maintaining the cupboards does not make them household contents.
My bank wants proof of buildings insurance for my flat. What do I send?+
Ask the managing agent for the body corporate’s policy schedule and, where the bank requires it, a confirmation noting the bank’s interest. A separate buildings policy on the unit is usually unnecessary and duplicates cover the levy pays for.
What is an exclusive-use area, for insurance?+
A part of the common property that one owner has the exclusive right to use, such as a parking bay, a garden or a storeroom. It typically remains common property the scheme insures, while what you keep in it is yours — but the rules can allocate responsibility differently.
Who insures a freestanding house in an estate?+
In a home owners’ association the individual house is usually the owner’s to insure, unlike a sectional title scheme, while the association insures common areas and its own liability. The governing documents decide it, so check them rather than assuming the sectional title answer applies.
Sources
This page cites the legislation and regulators it relies on, so you can check it.
General information about property insurance in South Africa, not advice. The split between a scheme and an owner depends on the registered sectional plan, the scheme rules and the policy wordings. TitanDC is an authorised financial services provider, FSP 8972.