The PHOA and CH lease - areas of concern in a nut shell

Photo: Piggy Bank (Unsplash)

Many people are unaware of the fact that the PHOA does not own the Club Facilities in the Estate, ie. Golf Course, Club House, Restaurants, Boat club, and Village Green. These properties and facilities are owned by a Malaysian Company called Country Heights(CH) who around 2015/2016 was derelict in their duties to maintain and upgrade their facilities and in a nutshell abandoned their obligations.

The PHOA Board at that stage decided to enter into the accompanying lease agreement with Country Heights for the maintenance and upkeep of their facilities. As a result of this, a special levy was voted on at the SGM in 2016 for a period of one year only (with specific obligations attached to it especially around reporting and transparency). This special levy however was perpetuated indefinitely without consultation with homeowners and any attempts to question this was made light of by the PHOA & the Board.

The following are the main areas (not limited) of concern regarding the original lease and the same(unsigned) renewal lease agreement with Country Heights and the impact on Residents and Levies. In this regard residents should note the two rationales being applied to the voting on a special levy in 2016 and the voting taking place on 30 July 2022.

The PW HOA Memorandum (MOI) of Incorporation specifically excludes the Country Heights Properties, facilities and business from the jurisdiction of the PHOA and Board of Directors.The MOI supersedes any operational agreement including this lease agreement.The current lease agreement had not been signed by Country Heights after the initial lease period.

In terms of the original lease, any permanent changes to Country Heights property needs to first be approved by Country Heights. No assurance had been given that the approval has been obtained from CH for past, present, and future projects which are funded by the levies and special levies of Homeowners.

There’s no guarantee that CH will renew the lease agreement for the future and hence the PHOA should not keep investing in property that firstly does not belong to Pecanwood Estate, and secondly there is no guarantee that we can secure the right of use going forward. However the Board continue as normal using the levies and now special levies of the Pecanwood Homeowners.

PHOA has undertaken to settle all CH Debts as from the start of the "initial Lease" period in 2016, until current. (The two years before the official lease of 2018 was agreed to between the parties was so that the PHOA could settle the CH debts amounting to R10.5 million in that period.) The PHOA currently foots the bill for all expense obligations of Country Height’s properties and services. Homeowners should note that the R187 000.00 per month over two years is significantly less than the debt that was settled on behalf of CH.

Country Heights at any stage are free to resume custodianship of their properties, in a pristine condition, paid for by the Homeowners, who have no recourse to claim any of the costs back from them. They can also do with their properties, what they want.

Homeowners over several occasions have attempted to address the Board amicably on these issues however it has resulted in a distinct lack of transparency and even resorted to bullying tactics by some members of the PHOA & the Board. The situation was then exacerbated when the PHOA resorted to evasive tactics (raising misinformation about PAIA, insisting on NDA’s being signed, etc). The obvious question is WHY? Hence the need to address this matter in this forum.

We as homeowners need to decide whether we continue to maintain and invest in properties, facilities and Services which do not belong to us.

© Pecanwood Corruption Watch