Lot 3518 Body Corporate v P Naidoo

The applicant, Lot 3518 Body Corporate, a residential sectional title body corporate situated in Tongaat, Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, brought an application under section 38 read with section 39(1)(e) of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011 (CSOS Act) against the respondent, P Naidoo, the registered owner of unit A210 in the scheme. The body corporate alleged that the respondent had failed over a period of time to make regular levy payments due in respect of the unit. As at October 2023, the outstanding levy amount was R41 868.53. The body corporate stated that it had requested payment, exhausted internal remedies, and then referred the matter to CSOS. Conciliation failed and a certificate of non-resolution was issued on 24 October 2023, after which the matter was referred to adjudication. The respondent did not provide a substantive defence or dispute the factual basis of the claim.

• Whether the CSOS had jurisdiction under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act to order payment of outstanding levy contributions.
• Whether the body corporate had established, on a balance of probabilities, that the respondent owed arrear levy contributions of R41 868.53.
• Whether a body corporate is entitled under the STSMA and management rules to recover duly raised levies from an owner.
• Whether any basis existed to refuse the relief sought or to make a costs order.

The application was granted. The respondent was ordered to pay arrear levy contributions to the applicant in the amount of R41 868.53 in full on or before 30 April 2024. No order as to costs was made.

A body corporate in a sectional title scheme may obtain relief under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act for payment of outstanding levy contributions where it proves, on a balance of probabilities, that levies were duly raised and remain unpaid by the owner of a unit. Owners are obliged to pay levies lawfully imposed by the body corporate and may not withhold payment simply because they dispute the necessity or wisdom of the levy decision.

The adjudicator observed that levies are the 'lifeblood' of shared living schemes because non-payment can destabilise the financial functioning of the scheme and prejudice all owners. The adjudicator also remarked generally on the approach to costs under the CSOS Act, noting that parties usually bear their own costs in section 54 adjudications, while cost orders are more commonly associated with dismissals under section 53.

This decision reinforces the enforceability of levy obligations in sectional title and community schemes through the CSOS adjudication process. It confirms that a body corporate may use section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act to recover arrear contributions from an owner and underscores the importance of levy payment to the financial viability of communal property governance in South Africa. It also reflects the principle that absent a substantive defence, documentary proof of levies and arrears will generally suffice for relief.