GEORGE NEWS - A satellite office that will deal with all sorts of issues that an owner or occupier of a townhouse, retirement village or golf estate might have, is opening its doors this week.
The office for Community Schemes Ombud Services (CSOS) is situated at 14 CJ Langenhoven Street.
There is no fee to register a community scheme with the CSOS and the services are free. However, owners do pay a CSOS monthly levy. The CSOS is an entity of the Department of Human Settlements.
According to Acting Chief Ombud Thembelihle Mbatha, the CSOS is the ombudsman for all community schemes in South Africa. "It provides a dispute resolution service, regulates and monitors the quality of all community scheme governance documentation, and provides training and consumer awareness," she said.
The disputes that fall under the jurisdiction of the CSOS must fall into the following categories: financial issues, scheme governance issues, management services, meetings, works pertaining to private areas and common areas, behavioural issues, general and other issues.
Mbatha answered some general questions about this new service in town:
What is a community scheme?
Townhouses, apartments, complexes, golf estates, retirement villages, homeowners associations, share block companies and other types of communal living arrangements are examples of community schemes.
These communities have a group of managing members and frequently a managing agent who manage the common property on behalf of the owners in the community scheme.
In terms of the CSOS Act, all community schemes must be registered with the CSOS within 30 days after the incorporation of the community scheme or within 30 days of the coming into effect. Schemes must then submit annual returns and financial documents to the CSOS as part of its monitoring function.
A community scheme's governance documents must also be submitted when the registration is done.
Who would make use of such a service?
An owner or occupier who has a dispute relating to the administration of that scheme can use CSOS for assistance to resolve such a dispute. The services provided by CSOS are also used by other parties who have an interest in the scheme. Body corporations and managing agents are examples of this.
The CSOS interacts with the public via its regional ombud offices, currently in Centurion, Cape Town and Durban.
Call the CSOS Contact Centre on 0800 000 653 or lodge a dispute via email to wc-complaints@csos.org.za or contact the Western Cape Ombud, Maletsatsi Wotini, on 066 302 9492.
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