The Trustees of Rand President Body Corporate v F. A. Siluma

The applicant, the Trustees of Rand President Body Corporate, brought a dispute-resolution application to the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) under section 38 of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011. The respondent, F. A. Siluma, was the owner of unit 1004 in the Rand President Body Corporate scheme in Ferndale, Randburg. The body corporate alleged that the respondent had failed to pay monthly levies and had accumulated arrears of R20 303,70 as reflected in the latest statement up to 1 November 2023. The applicant sought an order in terms of section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act directing payment of the outstanding levies, together with interest and legal costs. The respondent was invited to file written submissions but failed to respond by the deadline of 8 November 2023. A certificate of non-resolution had been issued after conciliation failed, and the matter proceeded to adjudication on the papers.

• Whether the CSOS adjudicator had jurisdiction under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act to order payment of arrear levies owed to a body corporate.
• Whether the respondent, as owner of a sectional title unit, was liable to the body corporate for outstanding levies in the amount of R20 303,70.
• Whether the applicant had established, on a balance of probabilities, a lawful basis for the arrear levy claim despite the respondent's failure to oppose the application.
• Whether interest and legal costs should be awarded in addition to the levy amount.

The application was upheld. The respondent was ordered to pay the applicant R20 303,70 in outstanding levies in 5 equal instalments of R4 060,74, commencing on 1 December 2023 and with the last instalment due on 1 April 2024. If the respondent failed to make the instalment payments, the full amount would become immediately due and payable. No order as to costs was made.

An owner of a unit in a sectional title scheme is legally obliged, by virtue of ownership and the statutory scheme under the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act, to pay levies validly raised by the body corporate. Where a body corporate proves arrear levies on a balance of probabilities, CSOS may grant an order under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act compelling payment of the outstanding contribution. In the absence of opposition, uncontested documentary evidence of the arrears is sufficient to justify such relief.

The adjudicator made broader observations, with reference to case law, that the relationship between owners and community schemes is contractual or quasi-contractual in the sense that owners who acquire units in a scheme accept the scheme's rules and obligations. The order also noted the general availability of interest and legal costs in levy-recovery matters under the statutory and management-rule framework, although no costs order was ultimately granted and the final order did not separately formulate an enforceable interest award.

The matter illustrates the role of the CSOS as a statutory forum for efficient recovery of arrear levies in sectional title schemes. It reaffirms that levy obligations arise from ownership within a sectional title scheme and are enforceable through the CSOS under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act. The order is significant for bodies corporate because it confirms that uncontested documentary proof of arrears can suffice to obtain relief, and that owners cannot avoid liability for contributions necessary for the administration and maintenance of common property.