Trustees of Constance Body Corporate v H Mngoma

The applicant, Trustees of Constance Body Corporate, is the body corporate of a sectional title scheme situated at 30 Koos Prinsloo Street, The Orchards, Pretoria. The respondent, H Mngoma, is the registered owner of Unit 17 in the scheme. The body corporate alleged that the respondent had fallen into arrears on levy contributions and ancillary charges despite monthly levy accounts, arrear letters, emails, SMS notices, and a written final demand for payment. The applicant, acting through its duly authorised managing agent, approached the Community Schemes Ombud Service in terms of section 38 of the CSOS Act for an order compelling payment. The applicant submitted a signed mandate authorising the managing agent to act, an updated levy history statement up to May 2024, and a trustees' resolution authorising interest on arrear levies at 24% per annum. The respondent did not file any submissions despite being invited to do so on two occasions. The amount claimed as outstanding as at May 2024 was R19 078.17, including interest.

• Whether the CSOS adjudicator had jurisdiction under the CSOS Act to determine a dispute concerning unpaid levies and ancillary charges in a sectional title scheme.
• Whether the applicant proved on a balance of probabilities that the respondent was indebted to the body corporate for levy arrears and ancillary charges in the amount claimed.
• Whether the body corporate was entitled to recover interest on the arrear amounts on the strength of a written trustees' resolution and the applicable sectional titles management framework.
• What payment order was just and appropriate in the circumstances, including whether the arrears should be paid by instalments.

Application upheld. The respondent was ordered to pay the applicant R19 078.17, being the outstanding levies and ancillary charges including interest as at May 2024. Payment was to be made in 7 equal instalments of R2 725.24, commencing on 1 July 2024, with the remaining six monthly instalments commencing on 1 August 2024. The respondent was also ordered to continue paying regular monthly levies and ancillary charges. If the respondent defaulted on any one instalment, the full outstanding amount would immediately become due and payable. No order as to costs was made.

A body corporate of a sectional title scheme is entitled under the STSMA and the CSOS Act to seek and obtain an adjudication order compelling a unit owner to pay outstanding levies and ancillary charges, including interest where such interest is properly authorised by written trustee resolution. Where the applicant produces relevant documentary proof of the debt and the respondent does not dispute the claim, the adjudicator may accept the applicant's version and grant relief on a balance of probabilities.

The adjudicator observed that owners who fail to pay levies are effectively subsidised by compliant owners, and that a body corporate cannot perform its functions in the absence of contributions from unit owners. The adjudicator also noted, by reference to authority, that interest on arrears is not a penalty but serves to protect the real value of the debt against inflation and compensate for the time value of money. These remarks were explanatory and contextual rather than strictly necessary to the dispositive finding.

This decision illustrates the CSOS's role as an accessible statutory forum for the recovery of unpaid levies in sectional title schemes. It reinforces the principle that unit owners are obliged to pay levies and ancillary charges necessary for the body corporate to perform its statutory functions under the STSMA. It also confirms that, where properly authorised by trustee resolution and the applicable rules, interest may be levied on arrear amounts. The matter is practically significant for bodies corporate because it demonstrates that uncontested documentary proof of indebtedness will generally suffice for relief before a CSOS adjudicator.