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The Witness •

AI: Productivity, not accuracy

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has encouraged automation, but by no means is it a replacement for professionals in the legal sphere. I was once presented with an interesting case of a man who used AI to generate a community scheme’s conduct rules, and it was painfully obvious.


The document cited repealed laws from 1986, which the AI tool sourced from online blog articles, unable to distinguish between references to laws that are in effect and laws that are not. ALSO READ | Opinion | The AI cra...
Conviction •

Law expert reminds residents: You cannot bring a pet without permission in sectional title schemes

Legal expert and academic Ashwini Singh has drawn public attention to a 2021 adjudication order of the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS), saying it offers valuable lessons for anyone living in a community scheme.   Singh notes that the case of Wijne v Trustees of The Ridge Body Corporate shows what can go wrong when residents misunderstand the role of trustees and the limits of the Ombud’s powers.  The matter arose when Durban resident Alan William Wijne, who owned a unit at The Ridge secti...
Rode Media •

Disputing sectional title fines: Two recent adjudication orders

With the proliferation of sectional title schemes in South Africa in the last two decades, the promulgation of the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act 8 of 2011 and the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011 attests to the necessity to regularise the management of these schemes. However, the management of a sectional title cannot be performed without the cognisance and application of statutory obligations. Sectional title management and conduct rulesUnsurprisingly, sectional title sch...
South African Business Matters •

Artificial Intelligence: The future of auditing digital footprints

AI, being primarily computing that emulates human intelligence, experienced a boom in its use in recent years. Microsoft reported that ChatGPT (a popular generative AI chatbot) reached 100 million users in just the course of two months, with AI usage by enterprises increasing to 75% in 2024 from 55% usage the previous year. Evidently, the adoption of AI is exponentially growing.A 2023 study published by Springer discussed the use of AI-powered OSINT tools, noting that AI automates the process of...
Conviction •

That’s not my dog’s poo: How a R250 fine sparked a fight for fairness in a Cape Town block

You can’t fine someone without evidence. That’s the clear warning from the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS), following a ruling in a dispute that started with a pile of poo and ended with a powerful reminder about legal accountability in community schemes.  The case involved Kobi Baribi, a Sea Point landlord who owns a unit in Victory Court, a sectional title scheme in Fish Hoek. He was slapped with a R250 fine after building management accused his tenant’s dog of soiling the common area....
Conviction •

Expert advice: Avoiding legal duplication in sectional title levy recovery

Dear Conviction, 

I read your article on arrears in a body corporate and have a question about the implications of pursuing a matter in both court and Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) simultaneously. 

My neighbour is in arrears, and the body corporate has initiated both a court case and a CSOS dispute against him at the same time. While I understand the need for the body corporate to recover outstanding levies, I believe taking the matter to court unnecessarily wastes funds when CSOS off...
Conviction •

Irregular levy increases, mismanagement, and legal threats in a sectional title scheme

Dear Conviction, 

I purchased a property in 2010, and at the time, the monthly levy was R960. The complex was managed by a resident who also owned a unit in the complex. 

Two years later, that person sold their unit, and the trustees appointed the new owner as the managing agent. Some of us objected to this decision, but unfortunately, we were outvoted—only four of us were against it. 

The new managing agent then increased the levies to R1,960, stating that the reason for the increase was the...
Conviction •

Law expert Ashwini Singh provides insights on claiming costs from a body corporate

Dear Conviction, 

If a body corporate incurs damages of a financial nature, can I claim the costs from them? As in, if I must take the body corporate to court over their failure to follow their own rules and it is costing me money. 

Ashwini Singh provides the following insight:  

It really comes down to what the costs were. Before approaching a court, it is important to consult the Community Schemes Ombud Service to find out whether the issue falls within their ambit of adjudication.  

If it...
Everything Property •

Sectional title trustees can face consequences for breaching scheme rules

Law academic Ashwini Singh shares that it is the priority of a sectional title scheme’s trustees to serve their body corporate and not their self-interests. Trustees have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of a body corporate, however, there have been instances when trustees regrettably breach the very rules of the scheme that they are supposed to be upholding.
WORDS & PHOTO: ASHWINI SINGH
Rules apply equally to all owners and occupiers in a scheme, and the reality is that no owner no...
Conviction •

Legal alert: Why duplicate community scheme disputes are rejected in South Africa

Dear Conviction, 

There is a dispute in my complex involving the body corporate, and it is in court. The trustees took the same case to the Community Schemes Ombud Service, and now there are two cases about the same dispute. 

I do not know much about law, but is it not redundant to have the same issue before two different legal forums? Would that not cause double the lawyer costs? What if one places rules differently from the other? 

Ashwini Singh provides the following insight: 

The Communi...
Conviction •

Navigating sectional title disputes: Choosing between ombud and court

Dear Conviction  I was wondering if you could advise me on a sectional title matter. I have a dispute in my complex, and I have heard that I can escalate it to the Community Schemes Ombud Service.  However, I also read that the same dispute can be taken to court. My question is: how do I know if the dispute falls under the Ombud’s jurisdiction or if it should go to court? I am asking because I understand that the Ombud does not allow legal representation.  Ashwini Singh provides the following in...
Conviction •

Noisy neighbour running business: What are your rights in sectional title schemes?

I live in a townhouse complex in Johannesburg. I have a problem with my neighbour who runs a business that seemingly involves virtual lectures. I have no problem with this, but the issue is the noise. I can hear everything and may as well be part of his class. 
On two occasions I have approached him, and he apologised, but only to do the same thing again. Do I call the police, report to the body corporate? 
Ashwini Singh advises: 
You would have to report the noise to the trustees of your body c...
The International Journal for Crime, Law, and AI •

Artificial Intelligence in the Courtroom: A Marvel or a Menace?

“Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” have undoubtedly become international catchphrases in the late 2010s and early 2020s. With the concept formerly conceived in the 1950s (Reiling 2020, p.2), AI is widely understood as the utilisation of technology to automate tasks that traditionally require human intelligence (Surden 2019, p.1307). Dr Dory Reiling (2020, p.2), a former senior judge of the Amsterdam court, defines intelligence as...
Conviction •

Making sectional title rules that work: A practical guide

Sectional title schemes are like little cities. While cities have by-laws, sectional title schemes have rules which are divided into two categories: management rules and conduct rules.

Management rules

As the name suggests, management rules relate to the management of a scheme. These rules can come in the form of Prescribed Management Rules as described under the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Regulations, or as established specifically for a scheme in terms of subsection 10(2)(a) of the...
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