The Trustees of Castle Hill Body Corporate v CF Page

The applicant, the Trustees of Castle Hill Body Corporate, brought an application under sections 38 and 39(1)(e) of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011 (CSOS Act) against the respondent, CF Page, the registered owner of unit 43 in the scheme. The body corporate alleged that the respondent had been in arrears with levies and ancillary charges since July 2021 and had failed to pay despite written demands. The applicant submitted a levy statement and supporting resolutions authorising the charges. The applicant alleged that the outstanding amount, including levies and ancillary amounts such as monthly CSOS levies, was R33 977.24 as at 13 March 2024. The respondent filed no submissions. Conciliation failed, a certificate of non-resolution was issued, and the matter proceeded to adjudication on the papers.

• Whether the applicant body corporate had proved, on a balance of probabilities, that the respondent was indebted for arrear levies and ancillary charges.
• Whether an order under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act should be granted for payment of contributions or other amounts owing to the body corporate.
• Whether the charges reflected on the respondent's account were properly authorised under the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act 8 of 2011 and the Prescribed Management Rules.
• What payment terms, if any, should be imposed in granting relief.

The application succeeded. The respondent was declared indebted to the applicant in the amount of R33 977.24 in respect of arrear levies and ancillary charges for unit 43 as at 13 March 2024. The respondent was ordered to pay that amount in 12 equal monthly instalments of R2 831.44 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 obligation to continue paying current monthly levies and ancillary charges. No interest would accrue during the 12-month payment period, but if the respondent defaulted, the full outstanding amount would become immediately due and payable. No order as to costs was made.

A body corporate in a sectional title scheme is entitled, under the STSMA and the CSOS Act, to recover duly authorised levies and ancillary charges from a unit owner. Where the body corporate provides sufficient documentary proof, including a levy statement and the necessary authorising resolution, and establishes the indebtedness on a balance of probabilities, an adjudicator may grant relief under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act ordering payment of the arrears. An owner's failure to oppose does not by itself decide the matter, but in the absence of a contrary version the applicant's properly supported claim may be accepted.

The adjudicator observed that defaulting owners are effectively subsidised by other members who pay their levies conscientiously, and that a body corporate cannot perform its statutory duties without contributions from owners. These comments explain the practical importance of levy recovery but were not themselves necessary to the legal basis of the order.

The decision illustrates the CSOS adjudication process as an accessible statutory mechanism for body corporates to recover arrear levies from defaulting owners. It reaffirms that owners in sectional title schemes are obliged to pay levies and authorised ancillary charges, and that a body corporate's ability to fulfil its statutory functions depends on those contributions. The matter also reflects the adjudicator's power to grant practical payment arrangements while still enforcing the body corporate's legal entitlement to recover arrears.