Call us now:
In this guide
- Levies: what you owe and what they must show
- Special levies: lawful only within limits
- Maintenance: whose problem is that leak?
- CSOS: the ombud with teeth
- Arrears from the other side: collection and the 'blacklist'
- Rules, fines and exclusive use
- Frequently asked questions
- Speak to an Attorney Today
- Get help with this
By Onah Attorneys Inc • Updated July 2026 • Legal information, not a substitute for advice on your specific matter.
Sectional title puts strangers in financial marriage — shared walls, shared budgets, elected trustees with real power. The disputes are predictable: levies and special levies, maintenance responsibility, exclusive use areas, fines and rule enforcement. The Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act and the CSOS ombud script the answers; owners who know them stop being pushed around.
Levies: what you owe and what they must show
Levies fund the scheme’s budget, approved at the AGM and raised per participation quota (or as the rules adjust). Owners must pay even while disputing — set-off against complaints is unlawful and hands trustees an easy judgment. But owners are entitled to the budget, financials, and levy calculations: opaque levies fail at CSOS.
Special levies: lawful only within limits
Trustees may raise special levies WITHOUT a general meeting only for necessary, unbudgeted expenses that cannot wait for the next AGM. Special levies for wish-list upgrades, or to paper over years of maintenance neglect, are challengeable — CSOS adjudicators strike special levies raised beyond the trustees’ powers. Demand the resolution and its stated necessity in writing.
Maintenance: whose problem is that leak?
The body corporate maintains common property (roofs, exteriors, structural walls, common pipes); owners maintain their sections (interior finishes, fittings, section-exclusive systems). Boundary cases — waterproofing above a top-floor section, pipes serving one section but running in common property, exclusive-use gardens — follow the Act’s default plus the scheme’s rules. Written maintenance demands with deadlines set up both CSOS relief and damages claims when ignored ruins your ceiling.
CSOS: the ombud with teeth
The Community Schemes Ombud Service adjudicates scheme disputes for a nominal fee, no lawyers required: levy disputes, rule enforcement, access to records, trustee overreach, meeting irregularities, nuisance complaints. Orders are enforceable as court orders. Exhaust internal remedies first (written complaint to trustees), then lodge — CSOS turns years of trustee stonewalling into a dated adjudication order.
Arrears from the other side: collection and the ‘blacklist’
Bodies corporate must collect arrears — other owners subsidise defaulters meanwhile. Lawful tools: demand, judgment, emoluments attachment, and ultimately sale in execution (with judicial oversight). Unlawful tools that owners can fight: cutting water/electricity without a court order, denying access, ‘fines’ the rules never authorised. Both sides win by paper: reconciliations, resolutions, demands.
Rules, fines and exclusive use
Conduct rules bind, but fines require rules that VALIDLY authorise them (properly adopted, reasonable, procedurally fair application). Exclusive use areas come in two species — registered (real rights) and rule-based — with different security and transfer consequences; know which you’re buying. Trustees enforcing rules selectively against one owner gift that owner a CSOS complaint.
Frequently asked questions
Can I withhold levies because the body corporate won’t fix the roof?
No — set-off is unlawful and creates easy judgments against you. Pay under protest, demand repairs in writing, then claim through CSOS and damages routes.
Can trustees raise a special levy without a meeting?
Only for necessary, unforeseen expenses that can’t await the AGM. Anything else needs the members. Demand the trustee resolution and challenge overreach at CSOS.
What does a CSOS complaint cost?
Lodging costs a nominal fee (waivable for low-income applicants) and no attorney is required — though prepared papers win. Orders enforce like court orders.
Who pays when a common pipe floods my unit?
The body corporate maintains common property — its failure grounds both a maintenance order and a damages claim for your interior. Insurance interplay matters; document everything and demand in writing.
Speak to an Attorney Today
Get straight answers about body corporate disputes from a firm that fights to win. First consultation — no obligation, full confidentiality.
Call 011 042 8039 Request a Callback