26/05/2026
A recent High Court ruling has sent a warning to bodies corporate and residential estates across South Africa. Levy collection practices that allow legal costs to spiral far beyond the underlying debt may not stand up in court, even where the arrears themselves are not disputed.
In a judgment handed down on 10 March 2026, the High Court of South Africa refused to grant judgment against a homeowner living in a gated community.
The homeowner owed just under R18,000 in unpaid levies after legal costs ballooned to nearly five times that amount.
The case has highlighted and criticised how levy arrears are pursued in estates, gated communities or sectional title schemes.
This is the feedback from Johlene Wasserman, Director of Community Schemes and Compliance at VDM Incorporated, who said the ruling signals a shift in how courts approach these matters.
“The ruling reflects growing judicial concern about how levy arrears are pursued. Levy arrears are the financial lifeblood of community schemes,” she said.
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