Trustees of Akasia Body Corporate v FL Tsele and IM Tsele

The applicant, the Trustees of Akasia Body Corporate, is the body corporate of a sectional title scheme governed by the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act 8 of 2011 and the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011. The first and second respondents, FL Tsele and IM Tsele, are the registered co-owners of section 35 in the scheme. The body corporate alleged that the respondents failed or neglected to pay monthly levies and ancillary charges, including monthly CSOS levies, owed in respect of their unit. The applicant submitted the respondents' statement of account reflecting arrears of R46 354.38. The respondents did not respond to correspondence from CSOS and filed no submissions. The adjudication proceeded on the papers, and the adjudicator also requested further information, after which the applicant submitted the latest levy statement.

• Whether the respondents, as co-owners of a unit in the sectional title scheme, were liable to pay the outstanding levies and ancillary charges claimed by the body corporate.
• Whether the applicant proved on a balance of probabilities that the respondents were indebted in the amount of R46 354.38.
• Whether relief under section 39(1)(e) of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011 should be granted for payment of contributions or other amounts due to the body corporate.
• What payment terms should be ordered in relation to the arrear levy debt.

The application was granted. The respondents were declared jointly and severally indebted to the applicant in the amount of R46 354.38 for levies and ancillary charges in respect of section 35 as at 25 March 2024. They were ordered to pay the amount in 24 equal monthly instalments of R1 931.43 commencing on 1 April 2024, with subsequent instalments due on the first day of each succeeding month. No interest would accrue during the permitted payment period. The order does not affect the respondents' ongoing obligation to pay regular monthly levies and ancillary charges. If the respondents default on any ordered payment, the full outstanding amount becomes immediately due and payable. No order as to costs was made.

A body corporate in a sectional title scheme is entitled to recover unpaid levies and ancillary charges from unit owners through section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act where it proves the indebtedness on a balance of probabilities. Owners, as members of the body corporate under sections 2(1) and 3(1) of the STSMA, are obliged to make contributions necessary for the body corporate to perform its statutory functions. In the absence of any opposing version, a properly supported statement of account and related documentary evidence can establish such indebtedness.

The adjudicator's remarks that owners who default on levies are effectively subsidised by compliant owners, and that the body corporate cannot perform its functions without owners' contributions, are broader policy observations explaining the importance of levy collection. The reference to the possibility of charging interest under PMR 21(3)(c) was also not decisive because the order expressly suspended interest accrual during the instalment period.

The decision is significant in the community schemes context because it reinforces the enforceability of body corporate levy obligations through CSOS adjudication under section 39(1)(e) of the CSOS Act. It affirms that sectional owners are obliged to contribute to the financial administration of the scheme and that documentary proof such as a levy statement may suffice, especially where respondents do not dispute the claim. The order also illustrates CSOS's practical remedial flexibility by allowing repayment by instalments while preserving the body corporate's right to immediate payment upon default.