The Trustees of Berton Square Body Corporate v IT Poho

The applicant, the Trustees of Berton Square Body Corporate, is the body corporate of a sectional title scheme. The respondent, IT Poho, is the registered owner of section 2 in the scheme. The body corporate alleged that the respondent fell into arrears with levy contributions and ancillary charges from March 2023 and, despite written demands, failed to pay the amounts due. The applicant submitted a levy statement and supporting resolutions authorising the charges. The respondent filed no submissions in the adjudication. After conciliation failed and a certificate of non-resolution was issued, the matter proceeded to adjudication on the papers in terms of the CSOS Act. The amount claimed as at 11 March 2024 was R125 888.47 in respect of levies and ancillary charges, including monthly CSOS levies.

• Whether the respondent, as owner of a unit in the sectional title scheme, was liable to the body corporate for outstanding levies and ancillary charges.
• Whether the applicant had proved, on a balance of probabilities, the respondent's indebtedness in the sum claimed.
• Whether the adjudicator should grant relief under section 39(1)(e) of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011 for payment of contributions or other amounts due.
• Whether ancillary charges and interest could be supported under the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act and Prescribed Management Rules.

The application succeeded. The adjudicator granted relief in terms of section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act. The respondent was declared indebted to the applicant in the amount of R125 888.47 as at 11 March 2024 for levies and ancillary charges relating to section 2. The respondent was ordered to pay that amount in 24 equal monthly instalments of R5 245.35 commencing on 1 April 2024, with the remaining instalments payable on the first day of each succeeding month. The order did not affect the respondent's ongoing obligation to pay current monthly levies and ancillary charges. No interest would accrue during the 24-month payment period, but if the respondent defaulted on any instalment, the full outstanding balance would become immediately due and payable. There was no order as to costs.

A unit owner in a sectional title scheme is obliged to pay levies and properly authorised ancillary charges to the body corporate. Where the body corporate proves, on a balance of probabilities, that such amounts are due and payable, an adjudicator may grant relief under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act ordering payment of the arrears. Charges debited to an owner's account must be authorised by the Act, the rules, the owner's consent, or a judgment or order, and interest on overdue amounts must comply with PMR 21(3)(c).

The adjudicator observed that owners who default on levy payments are effectively subsidised by other members who pay conscientiously, and that a body corporate cannot perform its functions and duties without receiving funds from unit owners. The adjudicator also made a practical, discretionary observation through the order structure that no interest would accrue during the 24-month instalment period, provided the respondent complied with the payment plan. The document contains an apparent clerical inconsistency in the closing date, stating the order was dated on 11 March 2023, whereas the adjudication and order elsewhere clearly indicate 11 March 2024.

The matter illustrates the CSOS adjudication process as an accessible mechanism for bodies corporate to recover arrear levies and ancillary contributions from defaulting owners. It reaffirms that owners in sectional title schemes are obliged to contribute to the body corporate's funds and that a body corporate's operational viability depends on those contributions. The order also demonstrates the adjudicator's ability to fashion practical relief by granting the claim while permitting payment by instalments and suspending interest for the instalment period. Although not a superior court precedent, the decision is significant in the administration of sectional title schemes and levy enforcement under the CSOS Act and STSMA.