Trustees of the Kanyin Body Corporate v T Naidoo

The applicant, Trustees of the Kanyin Body Corporate, brought an application under sections 38 and 39(1)(e) of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011 for recovery of arrear levies and related charges from the respondent, T Naidoo, the registered owner of unit 109 Leeukop, Paulshof, Sandton. The body corporate alleged that the respondent had failed to pay monthly levy contributions and recoverable consumables, with arrears accruing from about March 2023. It sent SMSs, final notices and a notice of action in an attempt to recover the debt. The applicant relied on a statement of account showing arrears of R16 307.74 as at 30 September 2023, and also sought recovery of interest and various collection, administrative, representation and legal costs. The respondent filed no submissions, sought no extension, and the matter proceeded unopposed on the papers after being referred directly to adjudication.

• Whether the respondent, as owner of a sectional title unit, was liable to pay the outstanding levy amount claimed by the body corporate.
• Whether the body corporate was entitled to recover interest on overdue levies.
• Whether the applicant was entitled in this adjudication to recover debt collection charges, administration costs, representation fees at CSOS, and legal fees.
• Whether it was appropriate to order immediate full payment or to allow payment by instalments in the interests of justice and fairness.

The application succeeded in part. The adjudicator ordered that: (1) the respondent is indebted to the applicant for R16 307.74 plus interest; (2) the respondent must pay the amount in six equal monthly instalments of R2 717.96 commencing on 7 January 2024 until the debt is paid in full; (3) the respondent must simultaneously pay current levies; (4) if the respondent defaults, the full outstanding amount becomes immediately due and payable; (5) the relief sought for debt collection, administration, representation and legal costs in prayer (b) 2, 3 and 4 is refused; and (6) there is no order as to costs.

An owner of a sectional title unit is legally obliged to pay levies raised by the body corporate, and that liability attaches to ownership itself. Where the body corporate proves arrear levies on a balance of probabilities, and the claim is unopposed, CSOS may order payment of the arrears together with interest lawfully authorised under the rules and a trustee resolution. However, claims for legal, collection, administration or representation costs are not recoverable in the absence of proof that such costs were agreed by the debtor or properly taxed.

The adjudicator's statement that it was in the interests of justice and fairness to allow the respondent additional time to settle the arrears, by way of six monthly instalments rather than immediate full payment, was a discretionary and case-specific observation rather than a general rule. The remarks on the general principle that legal fees and demand fees must be taxed or agreed were also framed as general guidance beyond the strictly necessary finding that the applicant had failed to prove entitlement to those costs on the papers.

The matter illustrates the CSOS adjudication process as an effective statutory mechanism for recovery of sectional title levies. It reaffirms that levy liability attaches to ownership of a unit and that a body corporate may recover arrear levies and approved interest through CSOS proceedings. It also shows that additional legal or collection costs will not be awarded merely because they are claimed; they must be supported by agreement or proper taxation. The order further reflects the adjudicator's equitable discretion to structure repayment by instalments while protecting the scheme's financial viability.