Greensleeves Body Corporate v T Rikhotso & J Seipei

Greensleeves Body Corporate, a sectional title body corporate for a residential scheme in Edenvale, Gauteng, brought an application to the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) under sections 38 and 39(1)(e) of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011 for payment of arrear levy contributions. The respondents, T Rikhotso and J Seipei, were the registered co-owners of unit 16 in the scheme. The body corporate alleged that the respondents had failed over a period of time to make regular payments of levies due in respect of their unit, resulting in arrears of R167 803.06 as reflected on the October 2023 statement. The applicant stated that internal remedies had been exhausted and that, after conciliation failed and a certificate of non-resolution was issued on 9 December 2023, the matter proceeded to adjudication. The respondents disputed the correctness of the levies, including water and electricity charges, but did not substantiate that dispute with adequate evidence.

• Whether the CSOS had jurisdiction under the CSOS Act to determine a dispute concerning arrear levy contributions in a sectional title scheme.
• Whether the applicant body corporate had established, on a balance of probabilities, that the respondents were liable for arrear levy contributions in the amount of R167 803.06.
• Whether the respondents' unsubstantiated dispute regarding the correctness of the levies, including water and electricity charges, constituted a sufficient defence to the levy claim.
• Whether the body corporate was entitled to an order under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act requiring payment of the outstanding contributions.
• Whether a costs order should be granted in the circumstances.

The application was granted. The respondents were ordered to pay arrear levy contributions to the applicant in the amount of R167 803.06 in full on or before 30 April 2024. No order as to costs was made.

A body corporate in a sectional title scheme is entitled, through CSOS proceedings under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act, to recover arrear levy contributions from unit owners where it establishes the indebtedness on a balance of probabilities by producing a sufficient breakdown and basis for the charges. An owner's bare or unsubstantiated dispute regarding the correctness of levies is insufficient to defeat such a claim, and levies may not be withheld simply because the owner disputes the necessity or wisdom of their imposition.

The adjudicator observed that non-payment of levies can seriously destabilise a scheme and that levies are the 'lifeblood' of shared living schemes because they fund maintenance, repair, insurance, security and other common obligations. The adjudicator also noted, for completeness, that Management Rule 21(3)(c) allows for interest on overdue amounts based on written trustee resolution, although the order granted was confined to payment of the arrear levy amount. The discussion of costs, including that costs are more readily awarded in section 53 dismissal matters than in section 54 adjudications, was also ancillary to the main decision.

The case is significant as a straightforward application of the CSOS dispute-resolution framework to the recovery of arrear levies in a sectional title scheme. It reaffirms that CSOS adjudicators may grant payment orders under section 39(1)(e) where a body corporate proves the indebtedness on a balance of probabilities, and that owners cannot avoid payment merely by raising unsubstantiated complaints about the correctness or wisdom of the levies. It also underscores the central importance of levy collection to the sustainability of community schemes.