The Trustees of Vistoria Body Corporate v D Padua and Loretta GS

The applicant, the Trustees of Vistoria Body Corporate, brought an application under section 38 of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011 for relief under section 39(1)(e), seeking payment of arrear levies owed in respect of Unit 86 in the Vistoria scheme at Moreletta Park, Pretoria. The first and second respondents were the co-owners of the unit. The applicant, assisted by its managing agent Coleman Properties (Pty) Ltd, alleged that the respondents had fallen into arrears on their levy obligations and that monthly levy statements, reminders and notices had been sent to them without success. The respondents filed no response or submissions despite being notified under the CSOS process. The applicant contended that levy income was necessary to enable the body corporate to meet its obligations to creditors and service providers.

• Whether the CSOS adjudicator had jurisdiction to grant relief under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act for payment of arrear levies.
• Whether the applicant had established, on a balance of probabilities, that the respondents were liable for the arrear levies claimed.
• Whether co-owners of a sectional title unit could be ordered to pay arrear levies jointly and severally to the body corporate.

The application was upheld. The respondents were ordered, jointly and severally, to pay the applicant R23 264.64 within 60 days of the order. No order as to costs was made.

A body corporate is entitled under the CSOS Act, read with the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act and the scheme rules, to obtain an order compelling unit owners to pay arrear levies where it establishes on a balance of probabilities that the amounts are due and unpaid. Liability for sectional title levies is an incident of ownership and attaches to co-owners of the unit, who may be ordered to pay jointly and severally.

The adjudicator observed generally that failure by owners to pay levies may place the financial viability of the scheme at risk and may cause the scheme to default on payments to local authorities and service providers. The adjudicator also noted the conduct rule allowing interest on arrear amounts at 18% per annum compounded monthly, although the order ultimately granted was for the principal arrear amount only.

The decision illustrates the CSOS's role in providing an accessible statutory mechanism for bodies corporate to recover arrear levies from owners. It reinforces the principle in South African sectional title law that liability for levies flows from ownership of a unit and that non-payment threatens the financial viability of the scheme. The case is also significant as a routine application of the STSMA and CSOS Act in levy-enforcement disputes where the respondent fails to answer the claim.