Saxenburg Body Corporate v Tshepano In Solutions (Pty) Ltd

The applicant, Saxenburg Body Corporate, is the body corporate of a sectional title scheme situated at Sabie Road, Bardene Ext. 26, Boksburg, Gauteng. It was represented by its managing agent, CSI Property Management, under a trustee resolution dated 13 March 2023. The respondent, Tshepano In Solutions (Pty) Ltd, is the registered owner of unit 19 in the scheme and therefore a member of the body corporate. The body corporate alleged that the respondent had failed to pay levy contributions due to the scheme, resulting in arrears of R16 547.22, inclusive of interest calculated at 2% per month. The applicant lodged a dispute resolution application with the Community Schemes Ombud Service on 1 September 2023 in terms of s 38 read with s 39(1)(e) of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011, seeking an order for payment of the outstanding levies. A certificate of non-resolution was issued on 18 September 2023 after conciliation failed. The respondent did not file a response to the statement of case or submissions despite receiving notice in terms of s 43 of the CSOS Act. The applicant submitted a contribution statement breakdown and relied on PMR 21(3)(c) and the trustee resolution authorising interest.

• Whether the CSOS had jurisdiction under the CSOS Act to determine a dispute concerning arrear levy contributions owed by a unit owner to a body corporate.
• Whether the applicant body corporate had established, on a balance of probabilities, that the respondent owed arrear levies in the amount of R16 547.22.
• Whether the levies and interest charged were properly authorised under the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act 8 of 2011 and the scheme rules.
• Whether an order should be granted under s 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act compelling payment of the arrear levy contributions.
• Whether a costs order should be made.

The application was granted. The respondent was ordered to pay arrear levy contributions of R16 547.22 to the applicant in full on or before 31 March 2024. No order as to costs was made.

Where a body corporate proves, on a balance of probabilities, that levy contributions and authorised interest were properly raised in terms of the STSMA and applicable management rules, the CSOS may grant an order under s 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act compelling the unit owner to pay the arrears. A member of a sectional title scheme is not entitled to withhold levy payments on the basis of a dispute about the necessity or wisdom of the levies.

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, insurance, security and other communal obligations. The adjudicator also remarked generally that costs orders are not usually made in s 54 adjudications, with parties ordinarily bearing their own costs unless circumstances justify otherwise.

This decision illustrates the CSOS’s role as a statutory forum for the recovery of arrear levies by community schemes from defaulting owners. It reaffirms that body corporates may enforce payment of duly raised levies through s 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act, and that a unit owner may not withhold levy payments because of dissatisfaction with the decision to impose them. The order also highlights the practical importance of documentary proof such as levy statements, trustee resolutions, and rule-based authority for charging interest in levy recovery disputes.