The Trustees of Palm Springs Body Corporate v Wellington Mhlanga

The applicant, The Trustees of Palm Springs Body Corporate, is the body corporate of a sectional title/community scheme situated in Meredale, Gauteng. The respondent, Wellington Mhlanga, is the owner of Unit 44 in the scheme. The body corporate, acting through its authorised managing agent Whitfields Professional Property Solutions (Pty) Ltd pursuant to a trustees' resolution of 17 February 2023, brought an application under section 38 of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011 seeking financial relief under section 39(1)(e) for payment of arrear levies. The applicant alleged that the respondent had failed to pay levies, despite monthly levy statements, reminder notices, emails and telephone calls. The respondent did not file any response or submissions. The adjudicator considered the matter on the papers and found that the amount claimed as arrear levies was R30 558.22.

• Whether the body corporate was entitled, under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act, to an order compelling the respondent to pay arrear levies.
• Whether the evidence before the adjudicator established on a balance of probabilities that the respondent was liable for the arrear levies claimed.
• Whether ownership of a sectional title unit carries with it a legal obligation to pay levies to the body corporate.

The application was upheld. The respondent was ordered to pay the applicant R30 558.22 in arrear levies within 30 days of the order. No order as to costs was made.

A body corporate is entitled to obtain relief under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act for payment of arrear levies where it proves on a balance of probabilities that the respondent is the owner of a unit and that levies are due and unpaid. In sectional title schemes, liability for levies is an incident of ownership, and the body corporate is empowered and obliged under the STSMA and scheme rules to enforce payment in order to discharge its statutory management functions.

The adjudicator observed that non-payment of levies poses a serious risk to the financial viability of the scheme and may impair its ability to pay local authorities and service providers. Those remarks explain the practical importance of levy enforcement but were not strictly necessary beyond the finding that the arrears were due and payable.

The decision reinforces a basic but important principle in South African sectional title and community schemes law: an owner's obligation to pay levies is an incident of ownership and can be enforced through the CSOS adjudication process. It illustrates the use of section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act as an accessible mechanism for bodies corporate to recover unpaid levies, especially where an owner does not dispute liability. The decision also highlights the relationship between the CSOS Act and the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act in regulating bodies corporate's powers and duties.