Is an owner who owes R12,500 in back levies and gives our lawyers the run around deemed to be a pest?

Are we allowed to fumigate ??

:D

Hi Stewart

A pest can be defined as “Anything which resembles a pest; one who, or that which, is troublesome, noxious, mischievous, or destructive; a nuisance.”

I guess that your levies are not R12,500 per month, and this amount has accumulated over a period of time.

An owner who persistently does not pay or under-pays their levies without a valid dispute is most definitely destroying the funds available to the body corporate to enable them to properly pay their accounts, maintain and repair the common property etc. They are also a nuisance to get hold of and to continuously contact them in order to get them to pay their levies.

In my opinion, such an owner, complies with the definition and is therefore a pest.

A body corporate can fumigate these pests, however, it should be done through the legal channels. The Sectional Title Act allows fumigation to take the form of a sale in execution for the amount owed to the body corporate, however the bond holder must agree to this first.

There are other possible forms of fumigation, but if the amount is as large as R 12,500 this owner probably has no intention, or is unable to pay their levies, and the lawyers should be able to recover the money through the use of the legal system.

Perhaps you should utilize a fumigator who uses deadlier poisons?

Regards

Grant O'Donnell
Stonewood Properties