The Trustees of Waterfall Ridge Village I Body Corporate v L M Kimera and A Kimera

The applicant, The Trustees of Waterfall Ridge Village I Body Corporate, is the body corporate of a sectional title/community scheme in Vorna Valley, Midrand, Gauteng. The first and second respondents are the co-owners of Unit 304 in the scheme. The applicant, represented by its managing agent CSI Property Management (Pty) Ltd, 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. The body corporate alleged that the respondents had fallen into arrears with their monthly levy obligations, despite monthly levy statements, reminders, notices and emails having been sent. The respondents were notified of the application by CSOS and invited to file a written response, but they did not submit any response or opposing version. The adjudication therefore proceeded on the papers before the adjudicator.

• Whether the applicant body corporate had established, on a balance of probabilities, that the respondents were liable for arrear levies owing to the scheme.
• Whether an order under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act should be granted directing the respondents to pay the arrear levies.
• Whether, in the absence of any response from the respondents, the applicant's uncontested evidence justified the relief sought.

The application was upheld. The respondents were directed, jointly and severally, to pay the applicant the amount of R5 869.10 within 30 days of the order. No order as to costs was made.

A body corporate is entitled under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act to obtain an order for payment of arrear levies where it establishes that unit owners are in default, the levy obligation arises from ownership and the scheme rules, and the arrears are shown to be due and payable. Liability for levies attaches to ownership of a sectional title unit, and a body corporate may enforce that obligation in order to fulfil its statutory functions under the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act.

The adjudicator observed that non-payment of levies poses a serious financial risk to the scheme because it may undermine the scheme's viability and its ability to pay local authorities and service providers. The adjudicator also remarked generally that responsibility for non-payment must lie with the person responsible and that all owners are required to contribute to the upkeep of the scheme.

The decision reinforces the principle in South African sectional title and community schemes law that payment of levies is an incident of ownership and that a body corporate is entitled to use the CSOS adjudication process to recover arrear levies. It also illustrates that where respondents fail to answer a properly served CSOS application, an adjudicator may grant relief on the uncontested evidence if the applicant proves its claim on a balance of probabilities.