La Riviera 1 Body Corporate v P.F. Brink

La Riviera 1 Body Corporate, a community scheme under the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011, brought an application against P.F. Brink, the registered owner of unit 130 in the scheme, for payment of arrear levies. The body corporate alleged that the respondent had failed to pay levies and was indebted in the amount of R6,778.61. It stated that numerous communications had been sent requesting payment. The application was lodged under section 38 of the CSOS Act and sought relief under section 39(1)(e) for payment of a contribution or other amount. The respondent did not file written submissions despite being requested to do so. A certificate of non-resolution was issued after conciliation failed, and the matter proceeded to adjudication on the papers.

• Whether the respondent, as owner of a unit in the sectional title scheme, was liable to the body corporate for arrear levies.
• Whether section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act empowered the adjudicator to order payment of the outstanding levy amount claimed by the body corporate.
• Whether the body corporate had established, on a balance of probabilities, a lawful basis for the claimed arrear levies and related interest.
• Whether the applicant was entitled to recover legal fees and collection costs in this adjudication absent taxation or agreement on those amounts.
• Whether a costs order should be made.

The application was granted. The respondent was declared indebted to the applicant in the amount of R6,778.61 in arrear levies and ordered to pay that amount in three equal monthly instalments of R2,259.53. The first payment had to be made within 30 days of delivery of the order, with the remaining two payments due on the first day of each succeeding month. These payments were in addition to the applicant's monthly levy. No penalties would accrue during the instalment period, but if the respondent defaulted on any instalment, the full outstanding balance would become immediately 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 operation of the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act, a member of the body corporate and is obliged to pay levy contributions validly raised by trustee resolution. Under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act, a CSOS adjudicator may order payment of arrear levies and authorised interest where the body corporate proves the indebtedness on a balance of probabilities. Legal or collection costs, however, are not recoverable merely because they are claimed; they must first be agreed or taxed before they can be enforced.

The adjudicator's remarks that no penalties would accrue during the instalment period, but would revive upon breach, were case-management directions tailored to the order rather than statements of general principle. The observations explaining the general law that legal fees must be taxed or agreed, including reference to Ben McDonald Inc and Another v Rudolph and Another and section 25(4) of the Sectional Titles Scheme Management Regulations of 2016, go beyond the narrow determination of liability for arrear levies and are ancillary commentary on the proper recovery of legal costs.

The decision confirms the enforceability of levy obligations through the CSOS adjudication process and illustrates the interaction between the CSOS Act and the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act. It reinforces that sectional title owners are automatically members of the body corporate and are legally obliged to pay levies once validly raised. It is also significant for clarifying that although arrear levies and authorised interest may be ordered by a CSOS adjudicator, legal and collection costs are not recoverable without taxation or agreement, reflecting ordinary South African costs principles.