Chante Park Body Corporate v ZL Damans

The applicant, Chante Park Body Corporate, represented by its managing agent JRL Property Management CC under trustee authority, brought an application under section 38 read with section 39(1)(e) of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011 (CSOS Act). The respondent, ZL Damans, is the registered owner of unit 12 in the Chante Park sectional title scheme in Meyerspark, Pretoria, and therefore a member of the body corporate. The body corporate alleged that the respondent had failed to pay levy contributions due to the scheme, resulting in arrears of R6 235, inclusive of interest at 15% per annum. A contribution statement and trustee resolution authorising the charging of interest were submitted. The matter was first processed through the CSOS dispute-resolution framework; after conciliation failed, a certificate of non-resolution dated 13 September 2023 was issued and the matter was referred to adjudication. Despite notice in terms of section 43 of the CSOS Act, the respondent did not file a response or submissions.

• Whether the CSOS had jurisdiction under sections 38 and 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act to determine the levy dispute between the body corporate and a unit owner.
• Whether the body corporate had established, on a balance of probabilities, that the respondent was liable for arrear levy contributions in the amount of R6 235.
• Whether the evidence submitted by the applicant, including the contribution statement and trustee resolution authorising interest, was sufficient to justify an order for payment.
• Whether any costs order should be made in the adjudication.

The application was granted. The respondent was ordered to pay arrear levy contributions of R6 235 in full on or before 31 March 2024. No order as to costs was made.

A body corporate is entitled, under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act read with its statutory powers under the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act, to obtain an adjudication order compelling a unit owner to pay arrear levies where the body corporate proves the indebtedness on a balance of probabilities through relevant documentary evidence such as levy statements and trustee resolutions authorising the charges. A unit owner cannot avoid payment merely by failing to respond or by disputing the wisdom of the levy decision.

The adjudicator remarked that non-payment of levies can seriously destabilise a scheme and that levies are the 'lifeblood' of shared living schemes because they fund maintenance, repairs, insurance, security and other common expenses. The adjudicator also made general observations on the usual approach to costs in CSOS adjudications, namely that parties normally bear their own costs unless circumstances contemplated by section 53 justify otherwise.

The decision reinforces the principle in South African community schemes law that body corporates may use the CSOS enforcement mechanism to recover unpaid levies from owners, and that levy obligations are not suspended by an owner's dissatisfaction or silence. It also illustrates the evidential sufficiency generally required in CSOS levy matters: a contribution statement and proof of authority to levy interest can sustain an order where unchallenged. The matter underscores the importance of levy collection to the functioning and financial stability of sectional title schemes.