Wilson McWilliams Attorney’s

25/11/2025

Disputes in Community Schemes – CSOS or High Court
by Sloan Wilson

For some time there has been uncertainty regarding the question of whether or not all disputes in community schemes (sectional title schemes and homeowners association schemes) which cannot be resolved internally, had to first be referred to the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) before the parties could approach the High Court. In other words, did the provisions of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act (the Act) oust the jurisdiction of the High Court in respect of disputes arising in community schemes.

In a number of cases, where disputes were taken to the High Court before first referring the dispute to the CSOS, the Courts (effectively) held that the High Court should refuse to hear matters (disputes) that fall within the provisions of the Act other than in “exceptional circumstances”. This resulted in the belief (amongst persons involved in community schemes, including, bodies corporate, homeowners associations, owners, managing agents and attorneys) that, generally, all unresolved disputes in community schemes had to first be referred to the CSOS. Only if the dispute was not satisfactorily resolved by the CSOS could the parties to the dispute then, under certain circumstances, approach the High Court.

In a recent Court Case, Parch Properties versus Summervale Lifestyle Estate Owners Association (171/2024[2025]ZASCA155), the Judgement delivered by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) on 17 October 2025 clarified the legal position.

The SCA ruled that the fact that the CSOS provides parties involved in disputes in community schemes with a dispute resolution mechanism, does not mean that such parties are compelled to first approach the CSOS before they can take action in the High Court.

This, effectively, means that the SCA has ruled that the CSOS provides disputing parties in community schemes with an alternative (and not an exclusive) dispute resolution process, and such parties are accordingly free to choose whether they wish to refer the dispute to the CSOS or whether they would prefer to resolve the dispute through taking action in the High Court.

The SCA’s decision is binding on all High Courts in South Africa. The previous uncertainty regarding the jurisdiction of the High Courts in respect of disputes of the nature discussed in this article has accordingly been removed, and parties to such disputes now have a clear right to institute action in the High Court and are not compelled to first refer the dispute to the CSOS before doing so.

Both options available to disputing parties have advantages and disadvantages and the decision on which forum to approach should be determined by factors such as urgency, complexity and financial considerations. Parties should consider taking expert legal advice before making a decision on which forum to choose.

https://wilsonmcwilliams.co.za/disputes-in-community-schemes-csos-or-high-court/

(Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only and do not constitute legal or other professional advice)

25/08/2025

ARE ‘AIRBNB’ GUESTS CAUSING PROBLEMS IN YOUR SCHEME?
TRUSTEES, OWNERS & MANAGING AGENTS WE CAN HELP.
We offer solutions to short-term letting problems in Sectional Title Schemes and Homeowners Estates.
Contact Sloan Wilson on 041 - 373 0871
WILSON MC WILLIAMS ATTORNEYS

SPECIALIST PROPERTY LAWYERS
PORT ELIZABETH AND GARDEN ROUTE

Attorney’s

25/08/2025

ARE ‘AIRBNB’ GUESTS CAUSING PROBLEMS IN YOUR SCHEME?

TRUSTEES, OWNERS & MANAGING AGENTS WE CAN HELP.
We offer solutions to short-term letting problems in Sectional Title Schemes and Homeowners Estates.

Contact Sloan Wilson on 041 - 373 0871
WILSON MC WILLIAMS ATTORNEYS

SPECIALIST PROPERTY LAWYERS
PORT ELIZABETH AND GARDEN ROUTE

20/05/2025

DO YOU HAVE A BOND REGISTERED OVER YOUR PROPERTY?
HAVE YOU SETTLED YOUR BOND?

When we are instructed to attend to the transfer of a property one of the first things we do is ask the Seller if they have the original Title Deed or whether the property is bonded (if a bond is still registered over the property the Bank will definitely have the original Title Deed).
Sometimes the Seller informs us that a bond was registered over the property at some point (usually when they purchased the property), but that they have paid it off (in some cases many years ago). We then discover that even though the bond has been paid off, the Seller does not have the original Title Deed.
Quite often the reason for this is that the Bank is still in possession of the Title Deed due to the fact that the bond has not been cancelled even though the full amount owing under the bond has been paid (the Bank only returns the original Title Deed to the Seller after the bond has been formally cancelled in the Deeds Office). In such situations we, as the transferring attorneys (conveyancers), have to try to establish what the bond account number is and then advise the Bank of the transfer so that they can instruct attorneys to cancel the bond together with the transfer.
If you have paid off your bond and no longer require the facility to draw from the bond in the future, then the solution to avoiding the above problem is to request your Bank to appoint attorneys to cancel your bond. The cost of cancelling the bond is approximately R6 000.00.
Upon the cancellation of your bond, the original Title Deed will be given to you for safekeeping and when you sell your property the potential delays referred to above will be avoided.

If you need help with your property transactions give me a call.
Justine
041 373-0871

07/05/2025

SELLING OR BUYING A PROPERTY ?

This is what you need to know:

Once an Agreement of Sale has been signed by the Purchaser and the Seller, the agreement needs to be sent to a Transferring Attorney (Conveyancer) to attend to the transfer process.
There are typically 3 Scenarios:

Scenario 1: The agreement of sale is signed and the sale is subject to a Suspensive Condition - for example, the buyer has to get a bond or sell his/her property:
If the suspensive condition is fulfilled (i.e. the buyer gets a bond or sells his property), the conveyancing process can begin. The Transferring Attorney would already have been appointed at this stage. The buyer’s bank would appoint a Bond Registration Attorney (the Bond Attorney). The Transferring Attorney would then have the transfer documents signed by the seller and purchaser, obtain a rates clearance certificate from the Municipality and transfer duty clearance from SARS. The Bond Attorney will have their documents signed by the purchaser and issue guarantees for the purchase price to the Transferring Attorney. If the seller has a bond registered over the property, the cancellation of this bond will be done simultaneously with the process mentioned above. (The buyer’s bond, the cancellation of the seller’s bond and the transfer would all have to be registered together in the Deeds Office.) The average time frame from the buyer’s bond approval until date of registration of transfer in the deeds office is approximately 6-8 weeks, provided there are no circumstances delaying the transfer process.

Scenario 2: The agreement of sale is signed, the sale is not subject to any suspensive conditions and the buyer is paying “cash” for the property they have purchased:
The Transferring Attorney find out if a bond is registered over the property and, if so, the Transferring Attorney will facilitate that the bond gets cancelled simultaneously with the transfer. The Transferring Attorney have the transfer documents signed, apply for transfer duty clearance from SARS and the rates clearance from the Municipality. Registration in the deeds office takes approximately 6-8 weeks from date of signature of the agreement of sale, provided there are no circumstances delaying the transfer process.

Scenario 3: The agreement of sale is signed, the sale is not subject to any suspensive conditions, the buyer is paying “cash” for the property and there is no bond registered over the property:
The Transferring Attorney has the transfer documents signed, applies for transfer duty clearance from SARS and the rates clearance certificate from the Municipality. Registration in the deeds office takes approximately 4-6 weeks from date of signature of the agreement of sale, provided there are no circumstances delaying the transfer process.

Give me a call !
Justine
Phone : 041 - 373 0871

09/04/2025

WRAP YOUR HEAD AROUND YOUR MARRIAGE RIGHTS BEFORE
YOU SAY “I DO”

ANTENUPTIAL CONTRACTS
An Antenuptial Contract (ANC), also known as a prenuptial agreement, is a legally binding agreement signed before marriage that outlines the financial terms and conditions of the marriage, including asset division in case of divorce.

Choosing the right legal way is a big decision. Let us help!
Contact Justine Joubert at Wilson McWilliams on (041) 373 0871 or email [email protected]

15/12/2024

Happy Christmas to all!

01/08/2024

Should you Register Your Property in the name of a Legal Entity
by Sloan Wilson

https://wilsonmcwilliams.co.za/should-you-register-your-property-in-the-name-of-a-legal-entity/

14/12/2023

Wishing you all a Festive Holiday Season.

OUR OFFICES ARE CLOSED
15 DECEMBER 2023 - 10 JANUARY 2024

12/12/2023

A WARM WELCOME TO JOANNE MOORE.

Attorney’s

27/09/2023

Here is another article worth reading.
Enjoy, and if you are looking for a Property Lawyer please contact Sloan Wilson at Wilson McWilliams Attorneys Port Elizabeth.
Email: [email protected]

https://www.paddocks.co.za/paddocks-press-newsletter/setting-up-exclusive-use-areas-for-solar-power-harvesting/

Attorney’s

19/09/2023

Another interesting article shared by Sloan Wilson from Wilson Mc Williams Attorneys Port Elizabeth. A good read.
Call us 041 -373 0871

Click on link below

https://www.paddocks.co.za/paddocks-press-newsletter/the-clash-of-lifestyles-a-noise-and-smoke-dispute-in-a-sectional-title-scheme/

Attorney’s