For most vacation owners, the managing agent is one of the most important parties in the ongoing relationship with a resort or scheme. It is often the managing agent that administers levies, manages finances, oversees maintenance and suppliers, communicates with owners and helps ensure that the scheme continues to operate effectively.

Consumers should therefore be able to expect more than competent administration. They should also be able to expect that the people entrusted with managing their scheme are operating within the appropriate regulatory framework.

South Africa has increasingly formalised the regulation of community scheme management. In March 2026, the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA) issued a notice specifically reminding community scheme executives that managing agents must be registered with the PPRA and must hold valid Fidelity Fund Certificates before they may practise. Importantly, the PPRA made it clear that the Fidelity Fund Certificate must be issued for the managing agent industry. An ordinary estate agent Fidelity Fund Certificate does not, on its own, authorise a person to practise as a managing agent.

The PPRA further stated that the requirement extends not only to the individual managing agent, but also to the juristic entity through which the managing agent operates and employees who perform managing-agent functions.

For consumers, this is significant. Managing agents can be responsible for substantial amounts of money collected from owners and for financial decisions that directly affect the condition, sustainability and long-term functioning of a scheme. Regulation provides an additional layer of accountability around matters such as professional conduct, trust monies, financial administration and regulatory oversight.

There is a second registration consumers should understand: registration of the scheme itself with the Community Schemes Ombud Service (CSOS), where the scheme falls within the definition of a community scheme.

The CSOS Act defines a community scheme broadly as an arrangement involving shared use of and responsibility for parts of land or buildings. It expressly includes structures such as sectional title schemes and share block companies. CSOS confirms that registration of community schemes is a statutory requirement.

This is particularly relevant in vacation ownership because timeshare is not established through one single legal structure. Some schemes operate through share block companies, some through sectional title arrangements, and others through different contractual or membership structures. Where a vacation ownership arrangement constitutes a community scheme for purposes of the CSOS Act, the scheme must be registered with CSOS. Share block and sectional title schemes are clearly within that regulatory framework. VOASA’s own Code of Conduct similarly requires Share Block Schemes and Sectional Schemes to be registered with CSOS and requires members carrying on the activities of a property practitioner to comply with the applicable property practitioner regulatory requirements.

CSOS registration is not simply an administrative formality. CSOS provides regulatory oversight of community schemes and, importantly for consumers, provides a statutory dispute-resolution mechanism where qualifying disputes arise concerning the administration of a scheme. It also requires community schemes to comply with requirements relating to governance documentation, annual returns and CSOS levies.

Owners should therefore feel comfortable asking straightforward questions: Who is the managing agent? Is the managing agent registered with the PPRA? Does it hold a current Fidelity Fund Certificate specifically for the managing agent industry? If the resort operates as a community scheme, is the scheme registered with CSOS, and what is its CSOS registration number?

These are reasonable consumer questions. Proper registration should not be regarded as a technical issue that sits somewhere in the background of resort administration. It is part of the governance structure that gives owners confidence that those managing their money, property interests and holiday environment are subject to appropriate standards and oversight.

For VOASA, effective regulation and good governance are fundamental to a sustainable vacation ownership sector. Compliance with the PPRA and CSOS frameworks, where applicable, strengthens accountability, improves transparency and gives consumers clearer avenues for protection and redress.

Consumer trust is strengthened when proper governance can be demonstrated, accountability is visible and regulatory compliance forms part of the everyday management of the scheme.