Can Your Body Corporate Cut Off Your Electricity Over Unpaid Levies?

Transcript

[00:08][Eon] If you own an apartment in a complex, this one is for you this week on Legal Talk. Welcome, and we're joined by Merilynn Du Plessis from Hahn & Hahn Attorneys, and she's going to give us a bit more insight, especially when it comes to the electricity. Merilynn, welcome.

[00:28][Merilynn] Thank you so much, Eon and listeners. Thank you for having me once again. This one is a little bit more complicated, but try to be condensed to understand.

[00:42][Eon] Okay, so let's have a scenario here. Let's say I live in a complex and I owe my levies. Can the body corporate cut off my prepaid electricity?

[00:54][Merilynn] No, they cannot unless there's certain exempt conditions, and that will be referred to in your complex rules. So the courts have already laid down their orders and said that the law in a standard complex rules doesn't give a body corporate the power to switch off or limit your electricity. They can only do it if a special rule in the complex specifically allows for it, and you agreed in writing, or a court has order it.

[01:26][Eon] And I suppose that's not just prepaid electricity. It's also if it's direct municipal electricity where you get billed monthly with an account.

[01:35][Merilynn] Yes, yes. However, in this scenario, this would typically, your municipality, typically in complexes, you won't find municipalities within complexes, which makes it a little bit more technical. The complexes' municipality doesn't have means to reach into complexes and submeter tenants, so you won't find this situation in with a municipality typically.

[02:03][Eon] Okay, it's usually prepaid in the complexes. Okay, so what if they don't switch it off, but now they take part of what I pay for electricity, and they put it towards my levies? Is this allowed?

[02:15][Merilynn] No, it's not allowed. That is, that would be one form of restriction of your electricity and, to an extent, a disconnection of some of your electricity. So, in one instance, a man paid for three hundred rand for electricity and only got a hundred rand worth through prepaid, because the rest went to his levies debt. This matter was referred to the ombudsman, and it said that this counts as cutting his electricity. Whatever you name or give it, the body corporate had no right to restrict or disconnect electricity. They had to provide the electricity he paid for.

[02:57][Eon] And that's even if the owners voted for it at a meeting.

[03:01][Merilynn] Absolutely. A vote isn't enough. In the same case, owners had voted for the plan, which I'm talking about, the electricity, the three hundred and the one hundred scenario, and it was still found to be wrong. A majority can't take away basic rights that the law protects.

[03:22][Eon] Okay, and why would you say is the law so protective here, Merilynn?

[03:28][Merilynn] Well, electricity is closely tied to your right to a home and basic services under the constitution. If it's taken away unlawfully, you can go to an ombud or a court urgently to have it switched back on. Electricity obviously affects your daily living, and within a complex, it's more complicated to go to a court. So, it's part of, it's recognized as a part of your freedom to a right of a home.

[04:02][Eon] And now let's say I'm renting. Can my electricity be cut because my landlord hasn't paid the levies?

[04:10][Merilynn] No, definitely not, and I think this is the most important thing with this type of scenario. Levies are not a owner's debt. It's, sorry, it's the owner's debt, it's not the tenant's. There's no rule that allows a body corporate to make a tenant's electricity money to recover what the owner owes. And what is necessary to understand this is electricity and your levies is tied to your home and tied to your ownership. Your electricity can change from time to time. And any right in a complex of such a nature must be determined by an owner and the body corporate, not a tenant.

[04:57][Eon] Merilynn, can a court ever allow for the electricity to be cut?

[05:01][Merilynn] Yes, they can allow for it, but with very strict safeguards. So, in one recent case, the court gave an owner 14 days' notice, and only the unpaid electricity bill counted, not all the other debt. In this instance, a qualified electrician had to do all the work, and the power had to come back within 48 hours of payment.

[05:25][Eon] Okay. And then finally, what would you say is your message for our listeners today?

[05:31][Merilynn] Please, owners, if you owe levies, talk to your trustees or your managing agent and agree to a payment plan. If your electricity is cut or reduced through levies, you can go to community schemes ombud services quickly, and they treat it as urgent. And for the bodies corporate, collect the money through proper legal channels, not through the electricity meters.

[06:01][Eon] Exactly. And that's Senior Associate Attorney at Hahn & Hahn joining us today here on Legal Talk, Merilynn Du Plessis. Thank you so much.

[06:10][Merilynn] Thank you, Eon. Take care, listeners.