A managing agent is appointed by the scheme executives to handle the day-to-day administration of the scheme on their behalf. This typically includes collecting levies, keeping the accounting records, preparing budgets and financial statements, arranging maintenance, managing insurance, and providing legal and compliance support. The agent acts under the instruction of the scheme executives — they don't take over the scheme's decision-making.

Levies are the monthly contributions owners pay to fund the scheme's operating expenses and reserve fund, covering things like maintenance, insurance, security, administration and utilities for common areas. Every owner is legally required to pay levies, usually in proportion to their unit's participation quota (sectional title) or as set out in the scheme's constitution (HOA).

A special levy is a once-off (or limited-term) charge raised outside the normal annual budget to fund a specific, often unbudgeted cost, such as a major repair, a legal matter, or a shortfall in the reserve fund. It is raised in addition to the normal monthly levy and is usually approved by the scheme executives, sometimes together with the owners depending on the amount and the scheme's rules.

Most sectional title schemes are required to have their financial statements reviewed or audited annually, depending on the scheme's size and what is resolved at the AGM; HOAs follow whatever their constitution or Memorandum of Incorporation requires, which is often similar. Either way, an independent accountant checks the figures before they are presented to owners, adding a layer of assurance.

The Annual General Meeting is where owners receive the year's financial statements and budget, elect scheme executives, and vote on any resolutions affecting the scheme. It is the main forum where owners exercise direct control over how their scheme is run, so attendance and participation matter.

Yes, owners who cannot attend in person can usually appoint another person, often a fellow owner, to vote on their behalf using a proxy form, subject to the limits set out in the scheme's rules. The managing agent can provide the proxy form and explain the scheme's specific requirements.

Yes, but changes usually require a special or unanimous resolution of owners at a general meeting, depending on which rule is being amended, and for sectional title schemes, conduct rule amendments must be filed with CSOS to take effect. The managing agent can guide scheme executives through the correct process.

CSOS deals with a wide range of scheme-related disputes, including arrear levies, access to financial statements and records, meeting and voting procedures, rule enforcement, and behavioural or nuisance complaints between owners. It generally cannot be used once formal legal proceedings on the same matter have already started.

The scheme executives, through the managing agent, are responsible for maintaining common property, such as roofs, gardens, roads, pools and shared facilities, funded through levies and the reserve fund. Individual owners are generally responsible for maintaining the inside of their own unit or home.

Ideally, major repairs are funded from a well-managed reserve fund built up over time specifically for this purpose. Where the reserve is not sufficient, or the need is unexpected, the scheme executives may need to raise a special levy to cover the shortfall.

Sectional title owners still need their own household contents and personal belongings insurance, and cover for improvements or fittings not included in the body corporate's master policy. Full title/HOA owners need full homeowner's insurance covering both the structure and contents of their house, since the HOA generally will not be insuring their home for them.

Scheme executives are usually owners who volunteer their time alongside their own jobs and lives, and few have the accounting, legal or administrative expertise a scheme requires. A managing agent brings that specialist knowledge and continuity, reduces the personal workload placed on volunteer scheme executives, and helps ensure the scheme meets its legal obligations consistently, even as scheme executives change from year to year.

The managing agent follows a credit control process on the scheme executives' behalf, starting with reminders and statements and escalating to letters of demand, interest charges and, if necessary, legal action or a CSOS application to recover the debt. Arrear levies affect the whole scheme, since the shortfall has to be covered by other owners in the meantime, so timeous and consistent credit control is essential.

The reserve fund is money set aside to pay for future major maintenance and capital replacement, such as repainting, roof repairs or replacing lifts, rather than relying on emergency special levies once something eventually needs fixing. Sectional title schemes are legally required to maintain an adequately funded reserve based on a written maintenance, repair and replacement plan; well-run HOAs follow the same principle even where it is not a statutory requirement.

The managing agent prepares a draft budget based on the prior year's actual spending, known cost increases such as utilities, insurance and contracted services, and any planned maintenance or projects, then presents it to the scheme executives for review. Once approved, the budget determines the levies owners will pay for the year ahead.

There is no fixed legal minimum, but most schemes hold scheme executive meetings at least quarterly, with additional meetings called as needed to deal with maintenance decisions, budgets or urgent matters. The managing agent typically attends to provide financial updates and record minutes.

Owners can generally request that an item be included on the agenda for an AGM or special general meeting, provided the request is submitted within the timeframes set out in the scheme's rules. The managing agent coordinates the agenda with the scheme executives ahead of each meeting.

The scheme executives, often via the managing agent, will typically raise the breach with the owner informally first, and may follow up with a formal warning if it continues. Persistent or serious breaches can lead to a fine, where the rules allow it, or in more serious cases, a CSOS application or legal action to enforce compliance.

An application is lodged with CSOS's dispute resolution department using their prescribed application form, together with any supporting documents, either through the CSOS website or by contacting their offices directly. CSOS first attempts conciliation to resolve the matter informally, and if that fails, refers it for formal adjudication by a CSOS adjudicator.

It is a forward-looking plan, legally required for sectional title schemes, that sets out what major common property components will need repair or replacement over the next several years and what it is expected to cost. This plan is what the reserve fund and reserve levies are meant to be based on, so the scheme is not caught out by large, unbudgeted expenses.

Yes. Sectional title schemes are legally required to insure the buildings, including the structure of every unit, to full replacement value under a single master policy taken out by the body corporate, along with cover for common property and public liability. This is paid for through levies, so individual owners do not arrange separate building insurance for the structure of their unit.

In a sectional title scheme, structural damage claims are usually lodged by the managing agent on behalf of the body corporate under the master policy, while owners claim separately under their own contents policy for their belongings. In a full title/HOA scheme, owners claim directly under their own homeowner's policy, since there is typically no master policy covering individual homes.

Yes. The managing agent implements decisions and provides advice and recommendations, but the scheme executives remain responsible for governing the scheme and make the final call on budgets, rules, contracts and major expenditure. Owners elect the scheme executives at the AGM, and it is the scheme executives — not the managing agent — who are ultimately accountable to owners.

Ordinary levies are usually set once a year when the annual budget is approved, but they can be increased mid-year if the scheme executives adopt a revised budget, for example because of an unexpected cost increase. Any change must be properly resolved and communicated to owners; it cannot simply be decided informally.

The financial statements are a formal record of the scheme's income, expenditure, assets and liabilities for the financial year, prepared after year-end and presented to owners at the AGM for approval. They give owners a clear, verified picture of how their levies were spent and the scheme's financial position going into the new year.

Yes, owners are entitled to reasonable access to the scheme's financial records, including financial statements, budgets and levy accounts, on request to the managing agent or scheme executives. This is one of the core rights of scheme ownership and part of the transparency the law requires.

A quorum is the minimum number of owners (or their proxies) who must be present for a meeting to be able to validly make decisions, set out in the scheme's rules or constitution. If quorum is not reached, the meeting generally cannot proceed, or must be adjourned and reconvened under different rules, which is why proxies matter so much for getting decisions passed.

Management rules govern the administration of a sectional title scheme, such as meetings, levies and the powers of scheme executives, while conduct rules govern how owners and occupiers behave and use the property day to day, such as noise, pets and parking. HOAs typically combine both into a single constitution or set of house rules.

CSOS, the Community Schemes Ombud Service, is the government body that regulates and provides dispute resolution for all community schemes in South Africa, including sectional title schemes, HOAs and share block companies. It was set up to give owners and schemes an affordable, less formal alternative to going to court.

CSOS currently charges a low application fee, R50 for conciliation and R100 for adjudication, far less than the cost of taking a dispute to court. Fees are set by CSOS and can be revised, so it is worth confirming the current amount on the CSOS website or with your managing agent before applying.

Owners are responsible for maintaining and repairing anything inside their own unit or home that is not common property, including internal finishes, fittings and any improvements they have made. The scheme's rules set out exactly where the boundary between common property and your unit falls, which is worth checking if you are ever unsure.

In a sectional title scheme, the body corporate's master policy covers the structure of every unit as well as common property, because owners jointly own the building. In a full title or HOA development, each owner individually owns their freestanding home and land, so unless the HOA's constitution says otherwise, it is the owner's own responsibility to insure their house; the HOA typically only insures common property such as roads, gates, clubhouses and shared facilities.