The Sensible Crowd
Body Corporate Legal Assist
This product was developed in answer to the various challenges that body corporates and sectional title scheme Managing Agents face in today’s economic and socio-economic environment.
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It is mainly aimed at Managing Agents who manage sectional title schemes, as well as Body Corporates that do not make use of Managing Agents.
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The product provides legal assistance to Body Corporates, which assistance includes any legal matter that may arise in day-to-day management of the affairs of the body corporate.
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Sectional Title Scheme management and regulation requires specialist legal knowledge, as it is a niche field of law within the greater property law sphere. As such, Attorneys who specialise in this field of law are more expensive. The main driving factor behind the development of this product is the inability of Body Corporates to afford the exorbitant legal fees that are charged by these Attorneys, coupled together with the actual need and demand for these services by Body Corporates.
Product Structure
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Structure:
This product can be a stand-alone product that Body Corporates or Managing Agents Purchase on behalf of Body Corporates, or it can be an add-on product to the insurance policy of the Body Corporate.
The product is based on a “time-based” model, which allows the Body Corporate a certain amount of hours in legal work, which amount depends on the size of the Body Corporate, and whether Sensible Risk Solutions is the Insurance Broker for the Body Corporate.
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To enhance the value of the product, the cover afforded (i.e., the amount of hours available to the Body Corporate) is aggregated over a 12 month period. This means that should the Body Corporate need more than the allocated number of hours in a given month, they will not be charged extra if they are still within the yearly allocation.
Basic Process of Assistance:
Broadly, the product covers legal assistance for any legal matter that may arise within the management of the Body Corporate, including labour disputes, CSOS disputes, debt collection and amendment, review and enforcement of the conduct rules of the Body Corporate.
Once a matter that requires legal assistance arises within the day-to-day management of a body corporate, the Body Corporate, either through the Managing Agent or one of its Trustees, will refer the matter to the Sensible Crowd.
The matter will then be allocated a “Claim Number”, whereafter the designated Legal Advisor will assess the matter to determine the extent of the advice that is required. If necessary, the Legal Advisor will schedule a consultation with the Managing Agent and/or Trustees to obtain further information.
Where a matter that requires legal assistance falls outside the scope of the cover provided by this product (i.e., if it is apparent that there will be a litigation component), the Sensible Crowd will outsource the legal work to be done to Döman Weitsz Attorneys, who will thereafter attend to the matter on behalf of the Sensible Crowd. This will only occur if the matter requires legal action that falls outside the scope of the cover, and as far as possible, the Sensible Crowd will attend to all matters internally.
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Product Pricing:
The product is priced at different tiers, depending on the size of the Body Corporate.
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For a small Body Corporate (0-20 Units) the monthly premium is R300.00 + VAT.
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For Larger Body Corporates (21-50 Units) the monthly premium is R450.00 + VAT.
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For Body Corporates that have more than 50 Unit, the monthly premium is R600.00 + VAT.
Cover Provided to Body Corporates:
The cover provided by the product depends on the size of the Sectional Title Scheme, as well as whether Sensible Risk Solutions is the appointed Short Term Insurance Broker on Insurance Policy of the Body Corporate.
For a small Body Corporate (0-20 Units), the monthly cover is 10 Hours of Legal Assistance, which Hours aggregate over a 12 Month period.
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For a larger Body Corporate (21-50 Units), the monthly cover is 15 Hours of Legal Assistance, which Hours aggregate over a 12 Month period.
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For Body Corporates that have more than 50 Unit, the monthly cover is 20 Hours of Legal Assistance, which Hours aggregate over a 12 Month Period.
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Should Sensible Risk Solutions be the appointed Insurance Broker on the Body Corporate’s short term insurance policy, the available Hours are doubled, without an increase in the monthly premium.
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Scope of Cover Provided:
The product covers a wide variety of matters, which includes:
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Labour Disputes within the Body Corporate
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Review of Conduct Rules (often referred to as “House Rules”)
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Amending of Conduct Rules
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Enforcement of Conduct Rules
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CSOS Disputes
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Debt Collection Solutions
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Assisting the Managing Agent in correctly navigating the Conduct Rules to effectively deal with complaints
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General legal guidance as it relates to Sectional Title Legislation and Regulation