Welcome to Shared Living, the official online magazine of the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) a fresh, inspiring space created for everyone who calls a community scheme home. Whether you live in a Sectional Title, Homeowners Association, Retirement Village, or Share Block, Shared Living is here to help you make sense of community life the good, the challenging, and the inspiring. […]
🏡 1. Right to Access Information You can: request and inspect scheme documents such as: Why it matters: Transparency builds trust and accountability. 🔒 2. Right to Fair Governance You can expect: trustees and managing agents to act: Why it matters: Fair leadership ensures balanced decisions and community harmony. 🏛️ 3. Right to Use Common […]
Living in a community scheme comes with challenges, but CSOS is here to help! Whether resolving disputes, improving governance, or providing educational resources, we’re committed to enhancing shared living spaces for everyone. Here’s how: 📌 Step 1: Know Your Rights & Responsibilities Understanding your community scheme rules can prevent conflicts before they arise. CSOS provides […]
Dive into the world of sectional titles, an essential aspect of property ownership that impacts many homeowners and investors. What Are Sectional Titles? Sectional titles refer to a form of property ownership where individuals own a unit within a larger building or complex. This type of ownership is common in apartments, townhouses, and other […]
By Someone Who Knows the Struggle of Complex Living. It’s a warm Saturday afternoon, and people are gathered around the braai complaining—again—about their complex problems. Leaking roofs, broken gates, and trustees who act like mini-presidents. Someone mentions the Community Schemes Ombud Service, also known as CSOS. You know, that government office you’ve heard about but […]
Listen up, neighbours. CSOS is supposed to help our complexes run smoothly, yet many of us still grind our teeth. Here’s why: Mixed signals – CSOS says, “We’ll sort fights.” Trustees say, “We must try first.” Nobody’s sure who must act, so the quarrel drags on. Paper jungle – Forms feel longer than the N1 […]