SP & C Catering Investments (Pty) Ltd v The Body Corporate of Waterfront Mews and Others

The appellant was the developer of the Waterfront Mews sectional title scheme and had, in terms of s 25(1) of the Sectional Titles Act 95 of 1986, reserved a real right to extend the scheme for a period of ten years. This period was stipulated by the appellant itself and was registered on 31 August 1998. The appellant failed to complete the extensions within the ten-year period and applied to the North Gauteng High Court for an order extending the reserved period. The application was opposed by several unit owners. The High Court dismissed the application on the basis that it lacked jurisdiction to extend the period of a registered real right. Leave to appeal was ultimately granted to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.

The case confirms that reserved rights to extend sectional title schemes lapse automatically upon expiry of the period stipulated by the developer and that courts have no power to extend or revive such rights absent express statutory authority. It provides important clarity on the nature of reserved extension rights as time-bound real rights and reinforces certainty and security of title for sectional owners.