Online Reporter
Fidelis Munyoro
Chief court reporter
Borrowdale Brooke homeowners suffered a legal defeat after the High Court ruled in favour of Burnock Investments (Pvt) Ltd and Nextworth Investments (Pvt) Ltd in a dispute over non-development levies.
Justice Vivian Ndlovu declared that the Borrowdale Brooke Homeowners Association lacked the authority to impose the contested levies.
The court found that such charges could only be levied by local planning authorities under the Regional, Town and Country Planning Act (Chapter 29:12).
“The imposition of non-development levies cannot logically apply to properties that do not fit the definitions of ‘undeveloped’ or ‘dormant,’” said Justice Ndlovu in her ruling.
The dispute arose from charges imposed by the association on property owners whose stands were deemed undeveloped or dormant.
The applicants argued that they had either developed their properties or were actively undertaking construction and, as such, could not be subjected to non-development levies.
They also contended that the association overstepped its authority by imposing levies without statutory backing.
According to court documents, Burnock Investments, listed as the first applicant, owns Stand 1035, currently under active development, while Nextworth Investments, the second applicant, owns Stand 1045, which has already been completed.
The association had introduced non-development levies to fund estate projects, citing its constitution and rules.
The court, however, found that the levies violated the association’s own constitutional limits.
Clause 9.2.1 of its rules caps non-development levies at 20 percent of the ordinary monthly levy, but the association had imposed charges far exceeding this threshold.
Justice Ndlovu also ruled that properties under active development could not be classified as dormant or undeveloped.
The association’s rules, which set a completion deadline of December 2027, further weakened its case, as the applicants’ properties complied with these timelines.
The court declared null and void any provisions in the association’s constitution that purported to authorise the levies.
Borrowdale Brooke homeowners are now barred from imposing such charges on the applicants’ properties.
