17/09/2026
๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐: ๐ช๐ต๐ ๐ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐
South African courts are now saying it themselves: litigate a property dispute before trying mediation, and you may be told you did it backwards.
In the RE/MAX v Smith commission dispute, the Western Cape High Court didn't just rule on who earned the commission. It specifically noted that an alternative dispute mechanism should have resolved the matter quickly and cost-effectively, rather than the parties ending up in motion proceedings over facts that were largely common cause. That is a court, not a mediation advocate, saying litigation was the wrong first move.
The same logic holds for sectional title and HOA disputes now that the Supreme Court of Appeal has confirmed community schemes can approach the High Court directly, without exhausting CSOS first. More forum choice does not mean litigation is the best choice. It means the decision on where to take a dispute, CSOS, mediation, or court, deserves more thought, not less.
CPMD's dispute resolution service is led by Graeme Jay, accredited through the South African Association of Arbitrators and the UK Society of Mediators, and eligible to serve as a court-annexed mediator. The service handles mediation only, structured, confidential, and focused on an outcome both sides can live with, before either party sets foot in a courtroom.
If a commission dispute, a scheme conflict, or a lease disagreement has reached deadlock, mediation may resolve it faster and cheaper than the forum you were about to choose by default.
www.cpmd.co.za | [email protected] | 011 728-7225
