Gordon Ridge Body Corporate v N Mgwathi

The applicant, Gordon Ridge Body Corporate, is the body corporate of a residential sectional title scheme. The respondent, N Mgwathi, is the registered owner of unit 34 in the scheme and therefore a member of the scheme. The body corporate alleged that the respondent failed over a period of time to pay levy contributions due in respect of the unit. As at October 2023, the arrear levies were reflected as R40 077.11. The applicant stated that internal remedies had been exhausted and that the trustees had resolved to pursue recovery through the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS). The respondent did not respond to the application or dispute the claim despite being given notice and an opportunity to do so. After conciliation failed and a certificate of non-resolution was issued on 9 January 2024, the matter proceeded to adjudication on the papers.

• Whether the CSOS had jurisdiction under section 39(1)(e) of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011 to order payment of arrear levy contributions.
• Whether the applicant body corporate had established, on a balance of probabilities, that the respondent owed arrear levies in the amount of R40 077.11.
• Whether the respondent's failure to respond or dispute the claim justified granting the order on the papers.
• Whether any order as to costs should be made in the adjudication.

The application was granted. The respondent was ordered to pay arrear levy contributions of R40 077.11 in full on or before 30 April 2024. No order as to costs was made.

A body corporate may obtain an order under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act for payment of arrear levy contributions where it places sufficient evidence before the adjudicator showing the amount due and the basis of the levies, and the claim is proved on a balance of probabilities. In a sectional title scheme, levy contributions are enforceable obligations of owners, and an owner cannot withhold payment merely because the owner disputes the necessity or wisdom of the levies.

The adjudicator observed that non-payment of levies can seriously destabilise a scheme and that levies are the lifeblood of shared living schemes because they fund maintenance, insurance, security and other common expenses. The adjudicator also noted, for completeness, that Management Rule 21(3)(c) allows a body corporate to charge interest on overdue amounts where supported by a written trustee resolution. These observations provided context but were not necessary to the core determination that the arrear levies were payable.

This decision affirms the role of the CSOS as an accessible statutory forum for body corporates to recover unpaid levies under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act. It reinforces the principle in South African sectional title law that owners are obliged to pay levies when due and may not withhold payment because of dissatisfaction with scheme decisions. The case also illustrates that, in the absence of a response from an owner, documentary proof from the body corporate may be sufficient to obtain relief on a balance of probabilities.