The Trustees of Lytern Body Corporate v D. du Plessis

The applicant, The Trustees of Lytern Body Corporate, is the body corporate of a sectional title scheme and a community scheme under the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act 8 of 2011 and the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011. The respondent, D. du Plessis, is the registered owner of unit 22 in the scheme. The body corporate alleged that the respondent's levy account was persistently in arrears, that he failed to bring the account up to date or negotiate a payment arrangement, and that arrear reminders and a final demand were sent without success. The applicant exhausted its internal avenues and approached the CSOS for relief under s 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act for payment of arrear levies and related charges. The applicant placed before the adjudicator a signed mandate authorising the managing agent to act and an up-to-date levy history statement to February 2024. The respondent filed no answering submissions despite being invited to do so. The amount claimed was R20 040.45, comprising levies, ancillary charges including CSOS levies, and interest.

• Whether the applicant body corporate had established, on a balance of probabilities, that the respondent was indebted to it for arrear levies and ancillary charges.
• Whether the CSOS adjudicator was entitled under s 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act to order payment of the outstanding amount.
• Whether interest included in the arrears was lawfully chargeable in terms of trustee resolution and Prescribed Management Rule 21(3)(c).
• What payment terms should be imposed for settlement of the arrear amount.

Application upheld. The adjudicator found for the applicant and ordered that the respondent owes the applicant R20 040.45 in respect of levies and ancillary charges, including CSOS levies and interest. The amount is to be paid in six equal instalments of R3 340.08, commencing on 1 March 2024, with the remaining five instalments payable on the first day of each consecutive month from 1 April 2024. Interest was already included in the outstanding amount. The order does not affect the respondent's ongoing obligation to pay regular monthly levies and ancillary charges. If the respondent defaults on any one instalment, the full outstanding amount becomes immediately due and payable. There was no order as to costs.

A body corporate established under the STSMA is statutorily entitled and obliged to collect levies and related contributions from owners in order to perform its functions. Where the body corporate places undisputed evidence before the CSOS showing that a unit owner is in arrears, and the owner files no response, the adjudicator may accept that evidence as uncontested and order payment under s 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act. Interest on arrear levy amounts may validly be included where it is authorised in terms of the applicable management rules and trustee resolution.

The adjudicator observed that owners who default on levies are effectively subsidised by other owners who pay conscientiously, and that the body corporate cannot perform its duties without funds from unit owners. The adjudicator also referred to case law explaining that interest on arrears is not a penalty but serves to compensate for the depreciation in the value of money and protect the equity of the debt. These broader remarks supported the decision but were not strictly necessary beyond the finding that the amount was due and recoverable.

The decision illustrates the CSOS's role as an accessible statutory forum for the recovery of arrear levies in sectional title schemes. It reaffirms core South African sectional title principles that owners are obliged to pay levies necessary for the functioning of the body corporate, and that a body corporate may recover arrears together with interest where properly authorised. It also shows that uncontested documentary proof of indebtedness may suffice for relief on a balance of probabilities and that adjudicators may tailor repayment terms while still enforcing the body corporate's financial rights.