Important rules for domestic workers in complexes and estates in South Africa
The Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS) has made it clear that complexes, estates and sectional title schemes in South Africa cannot adopt unreasonably restrictive and discriminatory rules against domestic workers.
The CSOS published a comprehensive Practice Directive in July this year, clearly outlining what it determines as “undesirable rules” in community schemes.
The directive sets the standard for how these schemes address things like pets, fines and domestic workers, and supersedes all previous documents issued on these subjects.
It serves as a single reference source for trustees, managing agents, and other stakeholders, and, crucially, is not a simple guideline, but a directive bearing legal consequence.
Specifically, non-compliance with the directive is no longer a matter of inconvenience or administrative backlog for trustees, and could lead to steep fines or even prison.
Trustees and managing agents who fail to meet their obligations under the directives could face penalties of up to 10 years in jail or significant fines.
Regarding domestic workers, the CSOS directive stipulates that any rules that discriminate against or limit their rights in any way are not permitted.
These rules have been undesirable for several years, with circulars as far back as 2020 stating that they are not allowed. However, the 2025 directive cements this position by the CSOS.
Historically, some estates and community schemes had gone to relative extremes to police domestic workers, to the extent that their rights to freedom of movement and association were severely infringed upon.
In one case, which made its way to the High Court in 2016, an estate’s rules said that domestic workers were only allowed in the area during certain times, and were not allowed access to the road network within its boundaries.
Domestic workers were not allowed to walk around freely, and residents were routinely fined for ‘misdemeanours’.
“According to the rules, domestic workers could only walk through the estate when the bus from the
entrance to the homes of their employers was unavailable,” the CSOS noted.
“If they were found transgressing this rule, homeowners became liable for a fine.”
The court ultimately ruled against the estate in question, declaring the rules unreasonable and unlawful. This ruling guided the CSOS’s approach to domestic workers in future circulars, including the 2025 directive.
Complexes and Estates vs Domestic workers
The CSOS noted that Section 23 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa states that “everyone has the right to fair labour practices”, and that any rules that are clearly discriminatory or contrary to the Constitution are not allowed.
This includes rules such as:
- Domestic workers are not allowed to receive visitors,
- Domestic workers are not allowed to talk to one another on common property
- Domestic workers are not allowed to walk around the common property without a name tag or pass
- The instance that trustees may refuse a domestic worker entry to the common property
“These are discriminatory against domestic helpers and maybe contrary to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa,” the CSOS said.
However, rules requesting a domestic worker to be registered with the estate manager/security personnel before entering the Community Scheme are not undesirable, and may be included.
Legal experts have warned that CSOS investigators are now actively conducting regular site visits to assess compliance with the directive, and rule breakers will be penalised.
Penalties for non-compliance are issued under Section 34(1) of the CSOS Act.
While the Act doesn’t specify exact amounts, enforcement actions will be proportionate to the seriousness of the contravention.
For first-time offences, jail time of up to five years may apply. For second or subsequent offences, the penalty can increase to 10 years.
The full directive can be read below:
Loading ...