Lalaphanzi Body Corporate v PS Baleni

The applicant, Lalaphanzi Body Corporate, represented by its managing agent JM Venter Property Services CC on behalf of the trustees, brought an application under section 38 read with section 39(1)(e) of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011 (CSOS Act). The respondent, PS Baleni, is the registered owner of unit 12 in the sectional title scheme and therefore a member of the body corporate. The body corporate alleged that the respondent had failed over a period of time to pay levy contributions due in respect of the unit. According to the applicant's October 2023 statement, the outstanding amount was R28 443.56, inclusive of interest at 15% per annum. The applicant stated that demands had been made, internal remedies had been exhausted, the trustees had resolved to pursue recovery through CSOS, and conciliation failed, resulting in a certificate of non-resolution dated 15 December 2023. The respondent did not provide a substantive defence or dispute the applicant's factual allegations.

• Whether the CSOS had jurisdiction under sections 38 and 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act to determine the dispute concerning unpaid levy contributions.
• Whether the body corporate had established, on a balance of probabilities, that the respondent was liable for arrear levy contributions in the amount of R28 443.56.
• Whether the body corporate was entitled to recover interest on the overdue levies in terms of the applicable management rules and trustee resolution.
• Whether any order as to costs should be made in the adjudication.

The application was granted. The respondent was ordered to pay arrear levy contributions of R28 443.56 in full on or before 30 April 2024. No order as to costs was made.

A body corporate may obtain a CSOS adjudication order under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act for payment of overdue levy contributions where it establishes, on a balance of probabilities, that levies were validly raised and remain unpaid by the unit owner. Interest on overdue amounts may also be recoverable where authorised by the applicable management rules and trustee resolution. A respondent who fails to dispute the applicant's evidence risks an order being granted on the uncontested papers.

The adjudicator remarked that levies are the 'lifeblood' of shared living schemes and that non-payment can seriously destabilise a scheme and negatively affect the collective interests and investments of all owners. The adjudicator also made general observations about the usual approach to costs in CSOS adjudications, namely that parties ordinarily bear their own costs unless circumstances contemplated in section 53 justify a different result.

This adjudication illustrates the CSOS's role as an accessible statutory forum for the recovery of arrear levy contributions in sectional title schemes. It reaffirms that levy obligations are enforceable through CSOS under section 39(1)(e), that bodies corporate may recover overdue contributions and interest where properly authorised, and that non-payment of levies threatens the functioning of community schemes. It also reflects the principle that an owner cannot simply withhold levies because of dissatisfaction with scheme decisions.