Trustees of Wonderpark Body Corporate v Tsiane Josephine Mmamotlhake

The applicant, the Trustees of Wonderpark Body Corporate, acting through its authorised administrator, brought a dispute-resolution application under section 38 of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011 (CSOS Act) against the respondent, Tsiane Josephine Mmamotlhake, the registered owner of unit 973 Ramathlapi Street, Zone 7, Garankuwa, Gauteng. The body corporate alleged that the respondent's levy account was in arrears and that prior correspondence demanding payment had produced no result. The amount claimed as at 9 November 2023 was R6,697.52 in arrear levies. The applicant sought an order under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act for payment of the outstanding amount. The respondent did not file written submissions despite being requested to do so by CSOS.

• Whether the CSOS adjudicator had jurisdiction to grant relief under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act for payment of arrear levies.
• Whether the respondent, as a registered owner in a sectional title scheme, was legally obliged to pay levy contributions to the body corporate.
• Whether the applicant had established on a balance of probabilities that the respondent was indebted in the amount of R6,697.52.
• Whether the body corporate was entitled to recover arrear levies and, upon breach of the instalment arrangement, applicable penalties or interest in accordance with the trustees' resolution and prescribed management rules.
• What payment arrangement and cost order should be made in the circumstances.

The application was granted. The respondent was declared indebted to the applicant in the amount of R6,697.52 for arrear levies. The respondent was ordered to pay the amount in 3 equal monthly instalments of R2,232.50, with the first payment due within 30 days of delivery of the order and the remaining 2 payments due on the first day of each succeeding month. These instalments were additional to the respondent's ongoing monthly levy obligations. No penalties would accrue during the permitted payment period, but if the respondent defaulted on any instalment, the full outstanding balance would immediately become due and payable together with applicable penalties from the date of breach. No order as to costs was made.

A registered owner in a sectional title scheme is, by virtue of membership of the body corporate under the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act 8 of 2011, legally obliged to pay levy contributions validly raised by the body corporate. Under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act, a CSOS adjudicator is competent to order payment of arrear levies once the body corporate establishes on a balance of probabilities that such amounts are due. Liability for levies accrues upon the passing of the requisite trustees' resolution and is recoverable from the owner concerned.

The adjudicator's comments that no penalties would accrue during the allowed instalment-payment period, but that the full balance would accelerate and penalties would revive upon default, are case-management directions ancillary to the main finding. The inclusion of the right-of-appeal explanation under section 57 of the CSOS Act is also informational rather than part of the binding reasoning. No substantial wider obiter observations were made beyond the immediate application of the statutory framework.

The decision reinforces the statutory duty of sectional title owners to pay levies to the body corporate and confirms the CSOS adjudication process as an effective enforcement mechanism for recovery of arrear contributions under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act. It also illustrates the interaction between the CSOS Act and the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act, especially regarding the accrual and recoverability of levy obligations, and shows that adjudicators may craft practical instalment-based relief while still enforcing the body corporate's substantive rights.