What's changed in community scheme and property compliance

Two regulators moved in the last eighteen months. CSOS consolidated its practice directives in July 2025, replacing a scattered set of notices with one document. PPRA reissued its audit, accounting records and trust account guideline in February 2026 and has been explicit that debit orders and overdrafts do not belong on a trust account.

Reviewed by TefCo Compliance Research — last verified 7 September 2026.

In short

CSOS Consolidated Practice Directives 1 of 2025 were approved and published in July 2025.
PPRA's revised audit and trust account guideline is dated 17 February 2026.
The 2027 FFC renewal window ran 1 July to 31 October 2026.
PPRA has clarified that managing agents may not run debit orders on a property practitioner trust account.

CSOS Consolidated Practice Directives 1 of 2025

Issued under the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act 9 of 2011, section 36, the consolidated directives pull scheme registration, compliance and enforcement, dispute resolution procedure and the approval of special and unanimous resolutions into a single document. CSOS published a media statement on 18 July 2025 confirming approval.

Practically, it means a scheme no longer has to reconcile several older directives to work out what CSOS expects on a resolution approval or a dispute filing.

PPRA's revised audit and trust account guideline

PPRA reissued its Revised Guideline on Audit, Accounting Records and Trust Account Requirements, dated 17 February 2026. It sets out what auditors must report on and what accounting records a property practitioner must keep behind the trust account required by the Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019, section 54.

The submission timing sits in the guideline rather than in a dated clause of the Act, so the guideline is the document to work from each year.

The submission window for audit reports is set by PPRA notice, not by a fixed statutory date. Check the current PPRA guideline before assuming last year's date still applies.

Debit orders and overdrafts on trust accounts

PPRA has issued a clarification aimed squarely at managing agents of community schemes: debit orders, stop orders and overdraft facilities may not operate on a property practitioner trust account. Where a scheme's collection design relies on that, it needs restructuring rather than an explanation.

Renewal windows

For the 2026 certificate year, renewal ran 1 July to 31 October 2025. For the 2027 certificate year, it ran 1 July to 31 October 2026. PPRA issues the window by public notice each year under the Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019, section 47, so it is a diary item, not a fixed statutory date.

Frequently asked

Did the CSOS levy amount change in 2025 or 2026?

No amendment to the CSOS Levies and Fees Regulations was found. The 2016 gazetted basis still applies, but CSOS publishes annual levy guidance and that is the safest thing to budget from.

Is there a fixed statutory deadline for the trust account audit report?

Not in the Act itself. The timing is set out in PPRA's audit guideline, which is why the February 2026 revision matters.

Sources

TefCo Corporate Compliance (Pty) Ltd is a compliance management platform, not a legal, tax or advisory firm. This guide is general information, not advice. Fees, dates and thresholds change — confirm current figures with the regulator before you rely on them.