Body Corporate of the Pinewood Park Scheme No 202 v Dellis (Pty) Limited

The respondent owned a sectional title unit in the Pinewood Park Scheme No 202 and was obliged under the Sectional Titles Act 95 of 1986 to pay levies to the appellant body corporate. The body corporate instituted action in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court for payment of arrear levies amounting to R123 101 plus interest and costs. The respondent admitted the obligation to pay levies but disputed the amount claimed, raising prescription and alleging that certain debits were unauthorised. The respondent contended that the High Court lacked jurisdiction because management rule 71 of the scheme required disputes to be resolved by arbitration. The trial court upheld this contention as a point in limine and dismissed the claim, a decision later confirmed by the Full Court.

Special leave to appeal was granted. The appeal was upheld with costs. The order of the Full Court was set aside and replaced with an order upholding the appeal and dismissing the respondent’s point in limine with costs.

The case clarifies the legal nature of sectional title management rules and confirms that arbitration clauses in such rules are consensual and subject to the Arbitration Act. It establishes that courts retain discretion to stay proceedings rather than being automatically divested of jurisdiction, providing important guidance for levy disputes in sectional title schemes.