Body Corporate of Greenacres v Greenacres Unit 17 CC

The Body Corporate of the Greenacres sectional title scheme claimed outstanding levies and electricity charges from the owner of Unit 17, Greenacres Unit 17 CC. The owner disputed liability, alleging that it had undertaken, at its own expense, work on the common property that the body corporate was obliged to perform, and that the body corporate’s claim was extinguished by set-off. Litigation was initially instituted in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court but withdrawn, after which the body corporate commenced arbitration proceedings in terms of management rule 71(1) under the Sectional Titles Act 95 of 1986. The owner raised a special plea that the dispute was not arbitrable and had to be determined by a court. The arbitrator found the dispute arbitrable, but the High Court (Witwatersrand Local Division) held that the matter fell within the saving provision of rule 71(1) and was therefore for a court to decide. The body corporate appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal was upheld with costs. The order of the High Court was set aside and replaced with an order dismissing the owner’s application with costs, confirming that the dispute was subject to arbitration.

The case authoritatively clarifies the scope of compulsory arbitration under management rule 71 of the Sectional Titles Act. It establishes that arbitration is the primary forum for resolving disputes between bodies corporate and owners, and that the saving provision does not allow parties to bypass arbitration merely because court proceedings are possible. The judgment promotes efficiency and certainty in the resolution of sectional title disputes.