The number of owners in good standing with their levy accounts, being owners who have not yet been handed over for the legal recovery of outstanding levies, which is usually done when the debt is between 60 and 90 days old, in the schemes that Whitfields manages, has shown a slight improvement to reflect at above 92%.
The number of owners in good standing with their levies in Whitfields managed schemes is significantly higher than the countrywide community scheme average where there are an increasing number of levy debtors with increasing arrear levy debt due to a number of factors and especially the current economic downturn in the economy, but also due to the failure of the executive of the schemes or their appointed managing agent to implement strict and sustainable levy debt recovery processes.
Households face increasing pressures to find the necessary income to pay for the services that they receive in the community scheme where they live. This is a challenge for all owners living in the community schemes scattered throughout the country and while we all must be aware and sensitive to the economic realities around us, community schemes must be financially viable to survive and provide amenities and all the advantages that Community scheme living offers.
Whitfields use a dedicated team that monitors and follows up on all owner arrear amounts in the community schemes that we manage. The team liaise with the various debt collecting attorneys and any debt collecting agency used to collect levies that are in arrears, to try to ensure the prompt collection of all monies owed to a scheme.
While the legal system continues to be a challenging landscape, by utilising the available arrear levy debt recovery processes, that also includes the dispute resolution process available through the CSOS, we continue to see that levy arrears owed to schemes are being recovered every month.
We encourage owners to pay their levies promptly as this allows the scheme’s service providers and municipal services to be paid on time for the services and ensures that services are not removed when bills are unpaid.