Directors of De Velde Home Owners Association v Kabelo Tserane

The applicant, the Directors of De Velde Home Owners Association, is a community scheme under the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011. The respondent, Kabelo Tserane, is the registered owner of unit 135 in the scheme and, by virtue of ownership, a member of the homeowners association bound by its constitution and rules. The applicant alleged that the respondent had fallen into arrears on levies and related charges. Arrear reminders and a final demand were sent, and the matter was then referred to the CSOS after internal remedies were exhausted. The applicant produced its constitution and rules, a signed mandate authorising its managing agent, and an up-to-date levy history statement showing arrears of R31 812.48 up to and including February 2024. The respondent did not dispute the indebtedness or the amount claimed, but explained that she was in financial distress because her tenant had stopped paying rent from March 2023, she had incurred costs in eviction proceedings, and she intended to sell the unit.

• Whether the respondent, as registered owner and member of the homeowners association, was liable to pay arrear levies and ancillary charges claimed by the applicant.
• Whether the applicant had proved, on a balance of probabilities, the amount outstanding for levies, CSOS charges and interest.
• Whether the respondent's personal financial difficulties and tenant-related problems constituted a defence to payment of levies.
• What payment order was appropriate under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act.

Application upheld. The respondent was ordered to pay the applicant R31 812.48 in respect of arrear levies and ancillary charges, including monthly CSOS levies and interest, up to and including February 2024. Payment was to be made in 10 equal instalments of R3 181.20 commencing on 1 March 2024, with the remaining nine instalments payable on the first day of each consecutive month thereafter. The order expressly stated that it did not affect the respondent's ongoing obligation to pay current monthly levies and ancillary charges. If the respondent defaulted on any one instalment, the full balance would become immediately due and payable. There was no order as to costs.

A registered owner who is a member of a homeowners association is bound by the association's constitution and rules and remains liable for levies, interest and ancillary charges duly imposed under those rules. Where the association proves the debt by its governance documents and levy account, and the owner does not meaningfully dispute liability or quantum, the association is entitled to relief under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act. Personal financial hardship or non-payment of rent by a tenant does not extinguish or suspend the owner's obligation to pay levies.

The adjudicator observed generally that levies are the 'lifeblood' of a homeowners association and that the primary responsibility of an HOA member is to pay levies. The reference to the Eye of Africa case served as persuasive support for this general proposition. The instalment arrangement appears to have been a pragmatic accommodation rather than part of the core legal principle necessary to establish liability.

The decision reaffirms, in the CSOS adjudication context, that a registered owner in a homeowners association is personally liable for levies and related charges arising from membership of the scheme. It illustrates that tenant default, cash-flow problems, or financial hardship do not constitute a legal defence to levy liability. The case is also significant for showing the CSOS's practical remedial flexibility: while enforcing the full debt, the adjudicator structured repayment by instalments. It underscores the enforceability of HOA constitutions and rules under the CSOS dispute-resolution framework.