The Pebble Park 5 Body Corporate v Khomotjo Lebepe

The applicant, The Pebble Park 5 Body Corporate, is the body corporate of a sectional title scheme in Johannesburg established under the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act 8 of 2011. The respondent, Khomotjo Lebepe, is the owner of unit 17 in the scheme and therefore a member of the body corporate. The body corporate alleged that the respondent failed to pay levies, CSOS levies and debt collection fees due in respect of the unit. As at 31 May 2023, the respondent’s account was said to be in arrears in the amount of R45 120.63. The applicant attached a levy statement and a trustee resolution authorising the managing agent to recover the debt. It also stated that arrear notices, letters of demand, SMS reminders and telephone communications were sent to the respondent, but no satisfactory response was received. The matter proceeded on the papers after a certificate of non-resolution was issued, and the respondent filed no submissions at all.

• Whether the CSOS adjudicator had jurisdiction under sections 38 and 39(1)(e) of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011 to determine a dispute concerning outstanding levies in a sectional title scheme.
• Whether the respondent, as an owner and member of the body corporate, was obliged under the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act to pay levies and related contributions.
• Whether, on the evidence before the adjudicator and on a balance of probabilities, the respondent was indebted to the applicant in the amount of R45 120.63.
• Whether interest on the outstanding amount should be awarded at the rate charged by the body corporate.
• Whether any order as to costs should be made.

The application for payment of outstanding levies was granted. The respondent was ordered to pay The Pebble Park 5 Body Corporate the amount of R45 120.63, plus interest at the rate charged by the body corporate, within 60 days of the date of the order. No order as to costs was made.

An owner in a sectional title scheme is legally obliged to pay levies and related contributions properly raised by the body corporate. A CSOS adjudicator may, under sections 38 and 39(1)(e) of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act, order payment of outstanding levies where the applicant proves the indebtedness on a balance of probabilities through documentary evidence and the respondent offers no evidence to dispute liability or quantum. In such circumstances, the full arrear amount may be declared due and payable together with applicable interest.

The adjudicator made broader observations about the importance of levies to the sustainability of sectional title schemes, including that unpaid levies unfairly burden compliant owners and may compromise the scheme’s ability to meet obligations such as maintenance, municipal charges, insurance and management costs. The adjudicator also commented generally that parties in CSOS disputes usually bear their own costs. These remarks were explanatory and contextual rather than necessary to the dispositive finding on the respondent’s indebtedness.

This decision illustrates the use of the Community Schemes Ombud Service as a statutory debt-enforcement forum for body corporates seeking recovery of arrear levies from owners in sectional title schemes. It reinforces the principle that levy contributions are mandatory incidents of ownership in a sectional title scheme and that, where an owner fails to participate in CSOS proceedings, an adjudicator may grant relief on the uncontested documentary evidence if the claim is proved on a balance of probabilities. The matter is significant at a practical level for community schemes, although it is an administrative adjudication rather than a superior court precedent.