Directors of Albertsdal Leopards Rest HOA v NC Manyathi

The applicant, the Directors of Albertsdal Leopards Rest Homeowners Association, is a non-profit company and community scheme situated at Leopards Rest HOA, Albertsdal, Alberton, Gauteng. The respondent, NC Manyathi, is the registered owner of unit 6116 in the scheme. The HOA alleged that despite numerous written demands, the respondent failed to pay monthly levies and ancillary charges due under the scheme’s Memorandum of Incorporation. The applicant submitted a levy statement showing arrears of R2 225.55 as at 1 January 2024. The respondent did not respond to correspondence from CSOS and filed no submissions in the adjudication. The matter proceeded on the papers under the CSOS Act and the applicable Practice Directive.

• Whether the applicant HOA proved on a balance of probabilities that the respondent was indebted for unpaid levies and ancillary charges in the amount of R2 225.55.
• Whether CSOS could grant relief under section 39(1)(e) of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011 for payment of contributions or other amounts due.
• Whether a unit owner in a homeowners association is contractually and legally bound by the scheme’s governance documentation, including levy obligations in the MOI.

The application succeeded. The adjudicator declared that the respondent is indebted to the applicant in the amount of R2 225.55 in respect of levies and ancillary charges as at 1 January 2024. The respondent was ordered to pay that amount in two equal monthly instalments of R1 112.77, the first on or before 1 May 2024 and the remaining instalment on the first day of the succeeding month. No interest would accrue within the three-month payment period. The order did not affect the respondent’s ongoing monthly levy obligations. If the respondent defaulted on any instalment, the full outstanding amount would immediately become due and payable. There was no order as to costs.

A homeowners association that proves, on a balance of probabilities, that a registered owner is in arrears with levies and ancillary charges in terms of the scheme’s governance documentation is entitled to an order under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act for payment of those amounts. Owners who purchase property within such a scheme are contractually bound by the scheme rules and MOI, including obligations to pay levies when due.

The adjudicator observed that levies are the 'lifeblood' of a homeowners association, that the directors cannot perform their functions without owners’ contributions, and that defaulting owners are effectively subsidised by compliant owners. These remarks explain the practical importance of levy enforcement but were not necessary to the dispositive finding on indebtedness.

The decision is significant in the community schemes context because it reaffirms that homeowners associations may use the CSOS adjudication process to recover unpaid levies and ancillary charges efficiently on documentary proof. It also reinforces the South African principle that membership of a homeowners association is contractual in nature and that owners are bound by the scheme’s governance instruments, including levy obligations. The order illustrates CSOS’s practical remedial flexibility by allowing payment in instalments while still enforcing the debt.