The Trustees for the Time Being of the Legacy Body Corporate v Bae Estates and Escapes (Pty) Ltd and Another

The trustees of the Legacy Body Corporate, a sectional title scheme in Green Point, Cape Town, resolved in May 2019 to prohibit Bae Estates and Escapes (Pty) Ltd, an estate agency, from operating within the scheme. The decision followed complaints about unruly behaviour by short-term sub-tenants in one unit. Although Bae Estates had only procured a long-term tenant and denied involvement in short-term sub-letting, the trustees relied on conduct rule 37.3, which regulates short-term holiday letting through reputable agencies, and imposed a prohibition without prior notice or hearing. Bae Estates unsuccessfully requested reconsideration and approached the Western Cape High Court, which set aside the decision.

The appeal was dismissed with costs, including the costs of two counsel, and the order setting aside the trustees’ decision remained in force.

The judgment clarifies that decisions of bodies corporate in sectional title schemes are generally private and managerial in nature and do not constitute administrative action merely because the body corporate is created by statute. It reinforces limits on the application of PAJA to private entities and confirms earlier authority that conduct rules in residential schemes are essentially contractual, not exercises of public power.