The Trustees of Redwood Lodge Body Corporate v Nokulunga Phungula

The applicant, The Trustees of Redwood Lodge Body Corporate, a community scheme situated in Glenwood, Durban, brought an application under sections 38 and 39(1)(e) of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011 for payment of arrear levies owed by the respondent, Nokulunga Phungula, the owner of Unit 36 at Redwood Lodge. The body corporate, assisted by its managing agent Property Services Group CC, alleged that the respondent had fallen into arrears in the amount of R24 136.65. Monthly levy statements and reminder notices were sent to the respondent, but no payment was made, no arrangements for payment were proposed, and the respondent did not respond to emails or participate in the CSOS process. After a section 43 notice elicited no response, the matter was referred directly for adjudication. The respondent filed no submissions.

• Whether the body corporate was entitled, under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act, to an order directing the respondent to pay arrear levies.
• Whether the evidence before the adjudicator established on a balance of probabilities that the arrear levies claimed were due and payable.
• Whether the respondent's liability to pay levies arose as an incident of ownership in a sectional title scheme.

The application in terms of section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act was upheld. The respondent was ordered to pay the applicant R24 136.65 within 30 days of the order. No order as to costs was made.

An owner in a sectional title or community scheme is obliged, as an incident of ownership, to pay levies due to the body corporate. Where the body corporate proves on a balance of probabilities that levies are outstanding and payable, and there is no substantive dispute raised by the owner, CSOS may grant relief under section 39(1)(e) of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act directing payment of the arrears.

The adjudicator observed generally that non-payment of levies poses a serious risk to the financial viability of a scheme and may impair its ability to meet obligations to local authorities and service providers. These remarks explain the practical importance of levy collection but were not independently necessary to the dispositive order.

This adjudication reaffirms the enforceability of levy obligations within sectional title and community schemes through the CSOS dispute-resolution mechanism. It illustrates that levy liability attaches to ownership and that a body corporate may obtain payment orders where arrears are proved and the owner does not dispute the claim. The matter is significant in practice because it demonstrates CSOS's role as an accessible forum for bodies corporate to recover unpaid contributions essential to the financial sustainability of schemes.