Trustees of Outeniqua Village Body Corporate v Dingingawo Elliot Khanye

The applicants were the trustees of the Outeniqua Village Body Corporate, a sectional title scheme and community scheme situated in Modder East, Springs, Gauteng. The respondent was the registered owner of unit 86 in the scheme. The body corporate, through its managing agent, alleged that the respondent had fallen into arrears on his levy account in the amount of R36 712.64. The applicants sought an order under section 39(1)(e) of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011 for payment of the outstanding balance, interest at 2% per month on arrears, continuing interest until final payment, credit-control charges, an order that the respondent pay monthly levies when due, and the cost of attendance by the managing agent. The respondent filed no submissions. On the documents before the adjudicator, the applicants relied on scheme rules and a purported trustees' resolution dealing with interest, but that resolution was signed only by the chairperson. The adjudicator also found that certain charges on the account, including debt-collection fees, CSOS administration fees and interest, were not properly authorised.

• Whether the respondent, as a unit owner, was liable to the body corporate for arrear levies under the STSMA.
• Whether the applicants had proved the amount owing on a balance of probabilities.
• Whether the body corporate was entitled to charge interest at 2% per month on arrear levies where the trustees' resolution did not comply with statutory formalities.
• Whether continuing interest on the outstanding balance until final payment could be ordered.
• Whether the adjudicator had jurisdiction under the CSOS Act to order the respondent prospectively to pay future levies on the first day of each month.
• Whether the applicants were entitled to recover credit-control charges, debt-collection fees, CSOS administration fees, and managing-agent attendance costs on the papers presented.
• What amount, after deduction of unauthorised charges, was lawfully recoverable from the respondent.

The application was partly granted. Relief for interest on arrears, continuing interest, an order compelling future monthly levy payment on the due date, and the claimed additional attendance/cost-related relief was refused. The respondent was declared liable for arrear levies of R29 067.08 and ordered to pay that amount in 18 equal monthly instalments of R1 614.84, commencing on 1 January 2024, with no interest accruing during that period. If the respondent defaulted on any one instalment, the full balance would become immediately due and payable. No order as to costs was made.

A body corporate is entitled under the STSMA and the CSOS Act to recover arrear levies from a unit owner, but it may recover only those contributions and charges that are lawfully authorised. Where a body corporate seeks to charge interest on overdue levies, PMR 21(3)(c) requires a valid written trustee resolution, and compliance with regulation 10(1)(b) regarding signature formalities is necessary for validity. In the absence of a valid resolution, interest on arrears is unenforceable. CSOS adjudicators may grant only relief that falls within the powers conferred by section 39 of the CSOS Act, and unauthorised debt-collection, administration, or similar charges must be excluded from the amount recoverable.

The adjudicator observed that owners who default on levy payments are effectively subsidised by compliant members, highlighting the practical importance of levy collection for the functioning of a body corporate. The adjudicator also remarked that CSOS is a creature of statute with limited remedial powers and that not all disputes or forms of relief can be dealt with by CSOS. There was also a reference to the Prescribed Rate of Interest Act not applying where a specific interest rate had been determined, although this did not affect the outcome because the interest resolution was found invalid in any event.

The decision is significant in the community schemes context because it emphasises that a body corporate's power to recover arrear levies is enforceable, but only within the limits of the statutory and rules-based framework. In particular, it underscores that interest on arrears and ancillary charges cannot simply be imposed informally: they require compliance with the STSMA, prescribed management rules, and formal resolution requirements. The order also illustrates the limited jurisdiction of CSOS adjudicators, who may grant only relief authorised by section 39 of the CSOS Act and must refuse incompetent claims. The case is a practical example of scrutiny of levy statements and the disallowance of unauthorised charges in sectional title disputes.