A blocked sewer pipe leads a Durban family to escalate their complaint to the CSOS after the body corporate of their sectional title unit dragged it heels in fixing the problem.
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A Durban family who had to endure a foul sewerage smell for more than a year, emanating from pipes running beneath their residential unit in a sectional title scheme, in desperation turned to the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) for redress.
Chevron Singh, who lives at The Ridge in Westridge, said in his complaint that he had reported this stench to the trustees of the body corporate, yet he is still waiting for it to be fixed. According to Singh, apart from the smelly sewer, it is also infested with cockroaches - both issues which pose a severe health risk to him and his family.
Singh said in his complaint to the CSOS that he reported the blocked pipe running under his unit to the body corporate in August 2024.Plumbers inspected the sewer pipe and confirmed that a large stone was the cause of the blockage.
Another set of plumbers were dispatched to remove the stone, but they were unsuccessful. Singh said nothing has been done since and claimed that the body corporate has been unresponsive. Subsequently, he said, he has no choice but to turn to the CSOS for help to have the sewerage unblocked.
He also asked for an order that the body corporate pay him R4,000 for the costs involved in preparing this application.
The body corporate, in turn, does not dispute the necessity of the repair works. It said attempts made at repairs have been unsuccessful, and further methods to remove the blockage will be pursued. However, they failed to issue a clear timeframe for the work.
CSOS adjudicator K Mabaso said in terms of the CSOS Act, the body corporate is required to take care of the common property. This is in respect of works pertaining to private areas and common areas. It was further pointed out that a section in the Act specifically emphasises the body corporate’s responsibility to maintain and repair pipes of the common property.
Mabaso noted that the body corporate does not deny its responsibilities. It merely postpones the performance to an indefinite future date. The conduct of the body corporate is unreasonable and unacceptable in circumstances where the affected pipe runs underneath a unit; where foul sewerage odour permeates the applicant's unit; and where there is evidence of a cockroach infestation directly as a result of the blocked sewer pipe, Mabaso said.
He pointed to another case where the court held that in order to discharge its legal duty to take care that the common property at the development was safe, the community scheme was obliged to take reasonable steps to guard against foreseeable harm to owners and other users of the common property.
In referring to the case of Singh, Mabaso remarked: “This situation is a health hazard to the applicant and his family and cannot be casually postponed to a future date without even tendering an explanation why this job is not being done. The respondent failed in its duty to take reasonable steps to guard against harm to the Applicant's family."
The body corporate is accordingly ordered to have the blocked sewerage pipe unblocked within seven days from the date of this order and to pay Singh the costs he had incurred in preparing for this application.