Every owner owns at least one section within the scheme, along with an undivided share in the common property. The owner's flat or townhouse is a section or part of a section. Garages and storerooms may be separate sections or parts of the flat or townhouse section, but may also be parts of the common property. Within a sectional scheme, everything that is not a section or part of a section forms part of the common property including:

•      All the land on which the scheme is situated

•      Gardens, swimming pools, tennis courts, clubhouses etc.

•      Entrance halls, foyers, passages and all buildings for common use

•      The outer walls of all the buildings

•      The foundations of all the buildings

•      The roof of all the buildings and the space between the roof and upper ceilings

Some parts of the common property may be set aside for the exclusive use of certain owners. The allocation, granting and protection of Exclusive Use Areas (EUA's) are causes of major misunderstanding in many sectional schemes. Owners often assume that enclosure of part of the common property automatically creates exclusivity of use. Other owners believe that the inclusion of a reference to exclusive use in a sales agreement means that the EUA exists. Neither of these beliefs is true. Exclusive use areas within sectional schemes fall within one of the following categories:

•       Granted in terms of the Schedule I Rules of schemes registered under the 1971 Sectional Title Act

•       Created and registered in terms of section 27 of the current Sectional Titles Act

•       Created in terms of the rules as prescribed in section 27A of the current Sectional Titles Act.