Trustees of Soetdoringpark Body Corporate v KR Khumalo

The applicant, the Trustees of Soetdoringpark Body Corporate, is the body corporate of a sectional title scheme in Klerksdorp, North West. The respondent, KR Khumalo, is the registered owner of unit 25 in the scheme. The body corporate alleged that the respondent had fallen into arrears on levies and ancillary charges, including CSOS levies and interest. Arrear reminders and a final demand were sent, and the applicant stated that all internal remedies had been exhausted. The dispute was referred to the Community Schemes Ombud Service under section 38 of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011. The respondent did not file any submissions in response. The applicant produced a signed mandate authorising its managing agent to act and an up-to-date levy history statement reflecting an outstanding amount of R6 219.82 as at February 2024.

• Whether the CSOS adjudicator had grounds under the CSOS Act to grant relief for payment of arrear levies and ancillary amounts.
• Whether the applicant proved, on a balance of probabilities, that the respondent was indebted to the body corporate in the amount claimed.
• Whether a body corporate is entitled to recover interest on overdue levy amounts in terms of the applicable statutory and management rule framework.
• What payment order was appropriate in circumstances where the respondent did not oppose the claim or enter into a payment arrangement.

Application upheld. The adjudicator found for the applicant and ordered that the respondent pay the outstanding amount of R6 219.82, being levies and ancillary charges including CSOS levies and interest, in five equal monthly instalments of R1 243.97 commencing on 1 March 2024, with the remaining instalments payable on the first day of each consecutive month thereafter until full payment. The order further provided that regular monthly levies and ancillary charges remained payable, and that if the respondent defaulted on any one instalment, the full outstanding balance would become immediately due and payable. No order as to costs was made.

A sectional title owner, as a member of the body corporate, is legally obliged to pay levies and related contributions required for the body corporate's statutory funds and obligations under the STSMA. Where the body corporate proves arrears through proper records and the claim is uncontested, a CSOS adjudicator may order payment of the arrears together with interest and ancillary charges, including interest lawfully imposed under the prescribed management rules and a trustees' resolution.

The adjudicator observed that owners who default on levy payments are effectively subsidised by owners who pay conscientiously, and that interest on arrears is not a penalty but a mechanism to preserve the value of the debt and compensate for delayed payment. The adjudicator also stated that the purpose of the order was to bring closure to the dispute while taking account of both the respondent's rights and duties. There is also an apparent discrepancy in the order's wording: while the outstanding amount is stated as R6 219.82, the text contains inconsistent written-out rand amounts and refers once to levies up to February 2023 rather than February 2024, suggesting clerical error rather than a substantive finding.

The matter confirms, within the CSOS adjudication framework, that a body corporate may obtain an enforceable order for payment of arrear levies, ancillary charges and interest from a defaulting sectional title owner. It illustrates the interaction between the CSOS Act and the STSMA, and reinforces the principle that levy collection is essential to the functioning of a body corporate. It also shows that where a respondent fails to participate in CSOS proceedings, the adjudicator may decide the matter on the uncontested evidence before him or her, applying the balance of probabilities.