The Community Schemes Ombud Service Act

The notorious three problem “P’s”, parking, pets and people, the latter represented in many cases by opportunistic  managing agents and/or trustees, have been known, in both the residential and commercial property sectors, to cripple community schemes and undermine the value of properties.

This problem has now been addressed by the introduction of The Community Schemes Ombud Service Act, No 9 of 2011 (Act), brought into force on 7 October 2016, and aimed to promote good governance, educate and inform as well as provide a dispute resolution platform for shared use “community schemes’ including :

• Sectional Title Schemes
• Share Block Companies
• Home Owners’ Associations
• Lot Owners’ Associations
• Housing Schemes for Retired Persons
• Housing Co-operatives

The Community Scheme Ombud Service can be summed up to:

• Provide information, education, documentation and services to raise awareness of owners, tenants, executive committees and all parties who have rights and obligations in community schemes
• Promote and monitor good governance of community schemes
• Provide a dispute resolution service with national reach
• Educate and train conciliators, adjudicators and other Service employees
• Provide public access to and take control of the quality of all community scheme governance documentation

The Ombud will be responsible for receiving and processing "applications" by members including owners, landlords and tenants of community schemes seeking relief in respect of issues pertaining to their particular schemes in the following domains :

• Financial matters
• Scheme governance
• Meetings
• Behavioural issues
• Management services
• Maintenance and works

Over and above the advantages of improved management and education for all community schemes, the Act provides a welcome forum for schemes that have been mismanaged.  The introduction of the Ombud will potentially support and monitor the process thereby increasing efficiency and reducing the legal expense involved to enforce obligations and rights within these schemes.