How to manage conflict in community schemes
30 October 2025 | Nicole Nel
Conflict in a community scheme is normal
With community scheme living becoming a popular choice amongst most South Africans, all coming from a melting pot of different cultures and experiences, it is natural that, with diverse people living in a concentrated area, conflict will arise.
What becomes important is how conflict is managed and dealt with by the individuals involved therein, as well as the scheme executives, if necessary, such to ensure that the best interests of the scheme and all its members are considered and upheld at all times.
While conflict within a community scheme is normal, it does not always have to be negative. In fact, conflict is actually essential in order for individuals to grow and evolve and is an effective tool for driving change during times of disagreement.
In this regard, one should not focus on avoiding conflict, especially when living in a community scheme, but should rather tackle same head-on, through using effective dispute-resolution tools.
This article will provide some insight into how individuals within community schemes can tackle conflict confidently, and who to escalate the conflict to in the event that same cannot be resolved amicably between the parties engaged in the conflict directly.
Principles for managing conflict
From the outset, the most important thing to remember when involved in a conflict is to stay calm.
This is, of course, way easier said than done, but staying calm through times of conflict and disagreement will only serve you in the long run.
It allows you to remain focused on the actual roots of the dispute, avoids additional confrontation, and, where possible, helps to reach a potential resolution in a shorter time period.
When people put their feelings aside and remain calm during conflict, the energy that would normally be used to process their difficult emotions can rather be channeled towards finding an amicable solution to the issue.
When managing conflict, another important principle is to always listen to the other side.
No matter how difficult it may be and no matter how much you may disagree with them, to actually actively listen to the other side can sometimes solve the whole problem, as it allows you to fully see their perspective of the conflict, invites you to consider what an amicable resolution might look like to them, and what you could potentially do, or not do, to help reach that amicable resolution.
A further principle for managing conflict that I would like to highlight is knowing what your Worst Alternative to Negotiated Agreement (“WATNA”) will be, as well as your Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement (“BATNA”), essentially, the best and worst case scenarios.
In community schemes disputes, when attempting to resolve a conflict yourself with the other party, the WATNA and BATNA would be as follows:
1. WATNA – you will have to escalate the matter to the Trustees or Directors, if the dispute is one that is within the scope of the scheme executives to resolve, or you will have to escalate the matter to the relevant legal forum, either the Community Schemes Ombud Service (“the CSOS”) or the relevant Court, and
2. BATNA – you and the other party/ies to the conflict reach amicable resolution on some, or all, of the points of conflict and/or contention, without needing to escalate the conflict to anyone.
When considering the above, what does one really have to lose by trying to resolve a conflict first with the party/ies directly?
The final principle I will discuss when managing conflict is knowing when to stop, and to rather escalate the conflict to the relevant people or legal authority.
This can be difficult, especially when you are determined to try and resolve a conflict yourself, but it is so important to know when to walk away and have an independent person either facilitate or make a decision in respect of a conflict.
However, it must be highlighted that before a conflict is escalated to either the scheme executives, the CSOS or to a Court, the persons involved in same must prove that they have exhausted their own internal dispute resolution processes, before referring a conflict to be independently resolved.
The exhaustion of internal dispute resolution prior to a matter being lodged is a legal requirement for both the CSOS and the Courts, with the Courts even requiring a certificate from a Mediator that the parties did attempt to settle the matter prior to approaching the Court.
In this respect, when persons within a community scheme are struggling to resolve a conflict without external intervention, it is absolutely worth considering the services of an independent Mediator, who can sit down with the parties and actively assist them in trying to find a resolution to the problem.
What to do if Mediation does not resolve conflict?
If after participating in a facilitated Mediation there is still a conflict, then, of course, the relevant legal forums can still be approached.
However, now both the parties and the relevant legal forum will be fully aware, and satisfied, that the parties did their absolute best to resolve the conflict before escalating same to an independent decision-maker, e.g. an Adjudicator, Arbitrator, Magistrate or Judge, and, hopefully, this will streamline any decision-making process.
Our wish for this article is to highlight that conflict within a community scheme does not have to be avoided, and, in fact, it should be dealt with head-on, with confidence, and only in the most severe of conflict should a matter be escalated to the relevant legal forum for independent resolution thereon.
Should you ever need any assistance in resolving a dispute within your community scheme, please do not hesitate to contact us.
If you would like any additional information on the above, please contact info@tvdmconsultants.com today.
About Nicole Nel
Nicole Nel is a Community Schemes Consultant at TVDM Consultants.
Nicole joined our team at the start of 2021 after finishing up her LLB at Stellenbosch University, where in the final year of her degree, Nicole worked as a research intern for the South African Research Chair in Property Law (“SARCPL”), where her research contributed towards various Property Law Juta publications. After graduating, she went on to complete an Advanced Diploma in Corporate and Securities Law through UNISA with distinction.
Nicole recently completed the SA Legal Academy mediation course, and is an Accredited Mediator. Nicole is also a member of Golden Key, international honours society as a top academic achiever in her respective fields of study.
Click here to learn more about her.
