Sectional Title - Disconnecting Electricity when Levy Payments are in Arrears

By Ané de Klerk

By AnTrying to collect arrear levies is undoubtedly one of the most frustrating elements of managing a body corporate. It therefore comes as no surprise that one of the questions I get asked most frequently by students and clients alike is whether they can disconnect a member’s electricity when their levies are in arrears. The intent in posing this question is that those managing the scheme’s finances quite understandably want to motivate the defaulting owner to pay up without delays, but is this legal?

While our Courts have dealt with this issue we often find that judgments are misinterpreted or misunderstood. When people read that a judge granted trustees and/or a managing agent an order to disconnect someone’s electricity, they often seem to think that this grants all bodies corporate the right to disconnect electricity. One such case which we often see used as the basis for disconnecting electricity is Body Corporate The Straight v Katisi (2023/031774) [2025] ZAGPJHC 2 (3 January 2025).

THE BACKGROUND

In this case the body corporate sought a court order against a unit owner who owed the body corporate more than R100 000 in arrear levies, electricity charges, interest and costs. While asking the court for an order to pay this money, the body corporate also requested a second part to the order: to authorise it to appoint an electrician to disconnect electricity supply to the unit until the overdue money was paid.

While the court initially granted an order in favour of the body corporate and gave it permission to disconnect electricity supply to the unit until the entire judgment amount (including the arrear levies) were paid in full, it later amended its order to clarify that the electricity could only remain disconnected until “The outstanding electricity charges and interest on that amount were paid.”

THINGS THE JUDGE CONSIDERED

So while in this case, this particular judge granted the order to disconnect electricity, no one-size-fits-all order was made. In fact the judge specifically pointed out that the decision to grant this order was based on the following:

• The body corporate in question formally acknowledged that it cannot arbitrarily disconnect the electricity of an owner who is in arrears.
• The body corporate did not take matters into their own hands, but instead sought the court’s authorisation to disconnect the electricity.
• The body corporate had paid the owner’s unrecovered electrical charges to Eskom for more than two years, thereby prejudicing the body corporate.
• If the body corporate did not recover these payments, it would have to continue advancing money to Eskom on behalf of owners who do not pay for electricity consumption, which would first deplete the body corporate’s savings and ultimately cause it to have a negative bank balance, risking disconnection of electricity supply to the entire body corporate and it being placed under administration.
• Both being placed under administration and being left without electricity would severely prejudice all the members of the body corporate, who would suffer a significant drop in their property values.
• Procedural fairness is vital in the disconnecting of electricity supply. Proper notice must be given to the end-users. In this case, the body corporate followed due process by sending a letter to the owner, informing him of the consequences of non-payment of his levies (including that the body corporate would seek a court order for the disconnection of electricity supply to his unit) and subsequently approaching the court to get the necessary authorisation to disconnect the electricity supply.

THE ORDER

The judge ordered that the body corporate could appoint an electrician to disconnect the electricity supply to the owner’s section if he did not pay his outstanding electricity charges and interest on those charges within 10 days of the order.

WHAT THE ORDER MEANS (AND DOESN’T MEAN)

This case therefore confirms that it is possible for a body corporate to disconnect electricity supply to a unit BUT ONLY if it first obtains a court order authorising the disconnecting from a judge who has carefully considered all relevant facts of the particular case AND such an order should only be granted if due process was followed, including that proper and sufficient notice had been given to the owner. This case does NOT authorise bodies corporate to take matters into their own hands and disconnect the electricity supply of any owner who owes the body corporate money. Bodies corporate do not have an inherent right in terms of any piece of legislation, nor in terms of our Common Law to do this. It can only do this when it has been granted the authority to do so by the Court who has carefully considered the matter.

Courtesy: The Advisory - Community Schemes Specialists

Specialist Community Scheme Attorney (BA, LLB), Ané de Klerk, is a Director of The Advisory, a boutique consultancy specialising exclusively in community schemes law. Her focus is legal education, which includes presenting seminars and running online and in-person training programs and courses. You can reach out to her via email at [email protected] to request an obligation-free quotation for training tailored to your business or scheme.

TAGS: Body Corporate, Complex Living, Electricity, Levies, Overdue Levies, Sectional Title, Sectional Title Schemes