The Executive Committee of Albertsdal Leopards Rest Home Owners Association v SC Chimzima and S Shilubane

The applicant, a non-profit homeowners association forming part of a community scheme under the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011, sought relief against the first and second respondents, who were the joint registered owners of Erf 6332 in the scheme situated at Leopards Rest, Albertsdal, Johannesburg. The association alleged that the respondents had failed to pay monthly levies and related contributions due to the scheme. The applicant, acting through its authorised managing agent, claimed payment of arrear levies in the amount of R6 383.84 calculated to the end of March 2024. The respondents were invited to file submissions but did not respond to the initial application or the request for final submissions. The matter was therefore escalated directly to adjudication, where the applicant's evidence, including its Memorandum of Incorporation and authorising resolution, stood uncontroverted.

• Whether the respondents, as joint registered owners and members of the homeowners association, were liable to pay the levies and contributions claimed by the applicant
• Whether the applicant had proved, on a balance of probabilities, that the amount of R6 383.84 was owing by the respondents
• Whether an adjudication order under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act should be granted for payment of the arrear amount
• Whether any basis existed for withholding levy payments under the applicant's Memorandum of Incorporation

The application was granted. The adjudicator found for the applicant and ordered the respondents, jointly and severally, one paying the other to be absolved, to pay the applicant R6 383.84. The order directed payment in two equal instalments of R3 191.92 each and further ordered the respondents to continue paying the regular monthly levies and ancillary charges reflected on the levy account. No order as to costs was made.

A registered owner in a homeowners association, by virtue of membership arising under the association's Memorandum of Incorporation, is obliged to pay levies and other contributions due to the association. Where the association proves the indebtedness on a balance of probabilities and the respondent offers no contrary version, the adjudicator may grant relief under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act for payment of the arrear amount. A member is not entitled to withhold levy payments where the governing instrument expressly prohibits such withholding.

The adjudicator observed that levies are the 'lifeblood' of a homeowners association and that directors cannot perform their functions without funds from owners. The order also referred generally to the directors' power under the Memorandum of Incorporation to charge interest on arrears, although no separate interest order was expressly made in the dispositive part of the ruling. There is also an apparent inconsistency in the payment dates in the order, as both instalments are stated to be due on 1 April 2024; the judgment does not explain this anomaly.

This decision reinforces a settled principle in South African community schemes law: owners in a homeowners association are bound by the scheme's Memorandum of Incorporation and cannot withhold levies because of disputes or dissatisfaction. It illustrates the CSOS's role as an effective statutory forum for levy recovery where respondents fail to engage and confirms that uncontroverted documentary proof of ownership, membership and indebtedness can suffice to obtain payment relief under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act.