The Azores Body Corporate v Kgomotso Mosome

The applicant, The Azores Body Corporate (SS 99/2000), represented by its managing agent under trustee authority, brought an application to the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) against the respondent, Kgomotso Mosome, the registered owner of unit 42 in the sectional title scheme. The dispute concerned unpaid levy contributions allegedly owed by the respondent. According to the applicant, the respondent had failed over a period of time to make regular levy payments, and as at October 2023 the arrears amounted to R13 278.52, inclusive of interest calculated at 24% per annum. The applicant stated that requests for payment had been made, internal remedies had been exhausted, and the trustees had resolved to proceed with recovery through CSOS. The respondent did not file a response to the allegations despite being notified and afforded an opportunity to do so. A certificate of non-resolution was issued after conciliation failed, and the matter proceeded to adjudication on the papers.

• Whether CSOS had jurisdiction under the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011 to determine a dispute concerning arrear levy contributions in a sectional title scheme.
• Whether the body corporate had established, on a balance of probabilities, that the respondent was liable for arrear levy contributions in the amount of R13 278.52.
• Whether the body corporate was entitled to recover interest on overdue levies under the applicable management rules and statutory framework.
• Whether any order as to costs should be made in the circumstances.

The application was granted. The respondent was ordered to pay arrear levy contributions of R13 278.52 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 under the STSMA and section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act to recover duly raised levy contributions from a unit owner through CSOS proceedings, provided it establishes the indebtedness on a balance of probabilities. Where the body corporate provides sufficient evidence of the levy account and the respondent does not dispute the claim, an order for payment may be granted. Interest on overdue levies may be levied where authorised by the applicable management rules and a written trustee resolution.

The adjudicator remarked generally 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 common obligations. The adjudicator also observed that costs orders are generally not made in section 54 determinations and are more commonly associated with dismissals under section 53 in cases that are frivolous, vexatious, misconceived or without substance. The judgment cited The Body Corporate of Fish Eagle v Group Twelve Investments (Pty) Ltd as authority that a member cannot withhold levies merely because the member disputes the necessity or financial wisdom of the levy decision, but no full citation for that case was provided in the text.

This decision illustrates the CSOS adjudication mechanism for the recovery of arrear levies in sectional title schemes and reaffirms the principle that owners are obliged to pay duly raised levies. It underscores the statutory role of body corporates under the STSMA, the enforceability of levy contributions and interest through CSOS, and the importance of levy collection to the financial stability of community schemes. It also demonstrates that, where a respondent fails to answer a properly supported levy claim, an adjudicator may grant relief on the papers on a balance of probabilities.