New Rules for fines in Community Schemes

Years back, around 2015, WPM was appointed to manage a Full-title Community scheme in the South of Johannesburg.

We were very surprised to find that after a particular owner was playing very loud music and being completely inconsiderate of his neighbours, was fined R10000 for the nuisance caused.

The R10000 fine was simply not paid by the owner which resulted in a summons being issued and additional legal fees and interest being added and by the time we started managing the scheme, the outstanding debt had grown to well over R20000!

The problem is that no Magistrate would ever consider that a fine of R10000 as being reasonable and the Community Scheme failed to obtain a default judgment for the amount.

The advent of the new Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act of 2011 and the CSOS Act which introduced the services of the Community Schemes Ombud Services to ALL Community Schemes, provided guidance and direction in terms of the enforcement of rules and the implementation of fines, where necessary.

Fines may certainly be an effective way to penalise owners and/or residents for failing to adhere to the rules of the Community Scheme, however according to the CSOS, any fines that are applied must be reasonable and must follow a process otherwise they may be challenged by means of a submission of a dispute resolution to the CSOS.

Schemes must ensure that the Conduct Rules include a dispute resolution process as well as specific clauses addressing the steps required when an owner or resident fails to comply with the scheme’s rules.

The implementation of a fine must also follow an initial warning by the Community Scheme to the transgressor and fines must then also be applied incrementally and not the maximum allowable amount from the outset. The CSOS’ view is that fines must not be unfair, unreasonable or unjust but should serve as incentive for a particular unsatisfactory behaviour to cease.

During the process, the transgressor should be given an opportunity to resolve any dispute or provide reasonable grounds for not adhering to the rules.

The idea is to treat each other fairly and with consideration as we are all from different backgrounds, cultures, customs and lifestyles. Should any of the schemes managed by WPM require a new set of rules of guidance in terms of the implementation of fines, please liaise with the Relationship Manager for your scheme as we have rules that have gone through the approval process already which may be amended to suit your unique Community Scheme.

-Arthur Botha