In terms of section 39 (1) (c) of the CSOS Act, an application may be for:
“an order declaring that a contribution levied on owners or occupiers, or the way it is to be paid, is incorrectly determined or unreasonable, and an order for the adjustment of the contribution to a correct or reasonable amount or an order for its payment in a different way”
A member’s most important financial obligation is to pay the association the contributions that fund its expenses.
These types of disputes can become very complicated, particularly when an owner believes that he or she should be paying a smaller share and other owners should be paying more.
One or more owners may believe that an annual or a special contribution (often referred to as a levy) is either excessive in amount or altogether unnecessary or irregular, for example if a special levy is raised to cover what they consider to be an unnecessary improvement.
Owners may believe that the scheme executives have not followed due process in the raising of the levy, making it unlawful.
An owner may consider that their share of a particular contribution has been incorrectly or unreasonably calculated.
If, for example, the scheme executives determine that a contribution is payable in three monthly instalments, an owner may object on the basis that the association does not need the money collected that quickly and it would be reasonable to have it payable in six monthly instalments.
In any of these cases the unhappy owners could make an application to the CSOS for an order giving them appropriate relief.
An example of the type of order the CSOS could give is:
1. That the special contribution raised by the directors of the Mountain View Share Block Company on 12 May 2017 was incorrectly determined and their decision is hereby adjusted to provide that the shareholders must contribute to that contribution in proportion to their shareholdings in the company, in accordance with its Article 25.6.
2. This order has the effect of a resolution of the directors of the company to that effect and takes effect immediately.
If you would like to see the whole of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act, 9 of 2011, including the full text of chapter 3 that covers applications, you can access this from Paddocks’ resource library.
Do you have concerns about your matter, need assistance completing your application, or want a sectional title Consultant to review your application before submission? Have a look at the Paddocks’ Consulting page.
For general help on the CSOS, including the special meanings of the words and phrases “association”, “common area”, “dispute”, “executive committee”, “owner”, and “scheme governance documentation” see the CSOS Information page.
Needing other assistance? Have a look at our Paddocks assistance page, which includes the helpful application guide explanation, for more information.
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