Comprising complexes, estates, retirement villages, and share blocks, South Africa’s community schemes constitute a significant part of the country’s urban housing landscape and have expanded into a sector of 70,000 schemes. The community schemes sector has expanded far beyond thegovernancemodel designed to support it. This is troubling, as a decade’s worth of Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) reporting clearly paints this picture.
“Trustees and directors in community schemes are carrying enormous legal and financial responsibilities, and often without the training or support they need,” says Johlene Wasserman, director of Community Schemes and Compliance at law firm VDM Incorporated. “CSOS data shows a sector that has outgrown the governance model it was built on, and with almost half of the country’s schemes not being registered with the Regulator, it becomes even more difficult to maintain consistent standards or intervene early when things go wrong.” The demand for sectional title properties is said to dominate South Africa’sresidential propertymarket. According to ooba Home Loans’ oobarometer Q4 2025, 66% of individual buy-to-let investors applying for home loans in 2025 chose sectional title properties, with demand steadily increasing across investor and owner-occupier segments over the past five years.
The CSOS regulate the conduct of parties within community schemes. The types of dispute trends are reflecting the strain, Wasserman notes further. “Most disputes aren’t about bad behaviour; they’re about uncertainty, inconsistent processes, and people trying to make complex decisions without the right tools. “The sector has matured, but the governance framework hasn’t kept pace.” South Africa’s community schemes, which include thecomplexes, estates, retirement villages and share blocks that comprise a large portion of the country’s urban housing landscape, have grown into a 70,000‑strong sector, Wasserman says.
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