Explain 'undivided share' and why I as an owner have right to access and utilise common property
ELA
EstateIQ Legislative Assistant
In sectional title law, each owner's unit is not a completely separate piece of land — it comes with a proportional (undivided) share in the common property of the scheme.
🔹 What "undivided share" means
Under section 11(1)(b) of the STSMA, every owner's participation quota (PQ) determines:
- the value of their vote in certain meetings,
- the proportion of their share in the common property, and
- their contribution share toward common expenses.
An undivided share means that you and all other owners jointly own the common property — such as driveways, gardens, passages, lifts, and recreational areas — without any physical division. You do not own a specific part of it (for example, "this piece of the garden"), but a percentage interest in the entire common property, expressed through your PQ.
🔹 Why you have the right to access and use common property
Because ownership of each unit automatically includes an undivided share in the common property, you have a legal right to use and enjoy it.
This right is recognised and balanced by section 13(1)(d) of the STSMA, which states that an owner must use and enjoy the common property without unreasonably interfering with the use and enjoyment by others.
In addition, section 3(1)(t) of the STSMA provides that the body corporate must manage and administer the common property for the benefit of all owners, reinforcing that all owners have a shared entitlement to use and benefit from those areas.
Together, these provisions mean that:
- You have a co-ownership right in every part of the common property.
- You may access and use those areas for their intended purpose.
- The body corporate cannot unfairly deny you use, provided your conduct is reasonable and consistent with the scheme's rules.
ELL
EstateIQ Legal Lookup
Sectional Title Schemes Management Act
STSMA Section 3(1)
A body corporate must perform the functions entrusted to it by or under this Act or the rules, and such functions include
3(1)(t): in general, to control, manage and administer the common property for the benefit of all owners.
STSMA Section 11(1)
Subject to subsection (2), the quota of a section must determine
11(1)(a): the value of the vote of the owner of the section, in any case where the vote is to be reckoned in value;
11(1)(b): the undivided share in the common property of the owner of the section; and
11(1)(c): subject to section 3(1)(b), the proportion in which the owner of the section must make contributions for the purposes of section 3(1)(a) or may in terms of section 14(1) be held liable for the payment of a judgment debt of the body corporate of which he or she is a member.
STSMA Section 13(1)
An owner must
13(1)(d): use and enjoy the common property in such a manner as not to interfere unreasonably with the use and enjoyment thereof by other owners or other persons lawfully on the premises;