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Legal Briefs
May 3, 2018ByIn

FACEBOOK DEFAMATION – THE TRUTH IS NOT ENOUGH!

You are engaged in a bitter dispute – perhaps it’s a fight over money, a family feud or a messy divorce, a disaffected employee or a vengeful neighbour. You decide to resort to Social Media “to tell the truth” about your nemesis. You feel totally safe doing so – after all, our Constitution protects our...
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April 3, 2018ByIn

HOW TO AVOID DISPUTES OVER JOINTLY OWNED PROPERTY

Co-ownership is the mother of disputes” (Roman law maxim)  Buying property can be an excellent investment, but it can also be expensive. So sometimes it makes a lot of sense to share the financial burden with someone else. Perhaps for example you are spouses or life partners buying your first home. Perhaps you are a...
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March 6, 2018ByIn

CAN YOU STILL SELL AS IS? CPA V THE VOETSTOOTS CLAUSE

Both sellers and buyers (of anything – houses, cars, you name it) need to understand how the CPA (Consumer Protection Act) has impacted on the very common “voetstoots” (“as is”) clause. FIRSTLY, WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “PATENT” AND “LATENT” DEFECTS? Before we get into the meat of this question, let’s understand two important terms –...
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February 1, 2018ByIn

SECURITY ESTATES: ARE YOUR RULES ENFORCEABLE?

“It is well established that contractual provisions are against public policy ‘… if there is a probability that unconscionable, immoral or illegal conduct will result from the implementation of the provisions according to the tenor’” (extract from judgment below) When you choose to buy into a security estate or other community scheme, you will invariably...
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January 8, 2018ByIn

PLOT-AND-PLAN: GREAT OPTION, JUST BEWARE THE BUILDING DEADLINE

There are many benefits to the “buy and build” option when you decide to buy a house, but they come with some important cautions. One of them is that buyers who fail to build on their plots by deadline risk penalty levies and/or buy-back (retransfer) clauses.  We discuss a recent SCA case illustrating both the...
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December 7, 2017ByIn

IT’S WEDDING SEASON! HERE’S WHY YOU NEED AN ANC (WHETHER YOU MARRY HERE OR OVERSEAS)

“He was a dreamer, a thinker, a speculative philosopher… or, as his wife would have it, an idiot” (Douglas Adams) Note:  Although by way of example we explore below the “international wedding” scenario, even if you are South Africans marrying in South Africa you need an ANC.  Read on… The Rand’s weakness notwithstanding, many couples still...
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October 30, 2017ByIn

CLOSING DOWN THE GUESTHOUSE NEXT DOOR: NOTES FOR OWNERS AND NEIGHBOURS

“You can be a good neighbour only if you have good neighbours” (Howard E. Koch, playwright) You decide – for whatever reason – that your neighbour’s new guesthouse is definitely not first prize in your sleepy and peaceful suburb, so you investigate. You find out that the local municipal zoning scheme doesn’t allow anyone to...
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October 2, 2017ByIn

HOW THE “HISTORICAL RATES” JUDGMENT AFFECTS YOU

“It is declared that, upon transfer of a property, a new owner is not liable for debts arising before transfer from the charge upon the property …” (Constitutional Court Order) How does the recent Constitutional Court decision on “historical rates” affect you in practice? UNDERSTANDING THE ISSUE At issue was that some municipalities would force...
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August 1, 2017ByIn

VERBAL AGREEMENTS – THE PROPERTY PERSPECTIVE

“A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on” (Samuel Goldwyn) A recent High Court judgment is yet another reminder of how essential it is to comply with all necessary formalities when entering into any sort of agreement, particularly when dealing with the sale of property. A FIGHT OVER EVICTION AND A PROPERTY TRANSFER...
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July 3, 2017ByIn

YOUR PROPERTY SALE AGREEMENT: BE CAREFUL HOW IT’S WORDED!

“In war and litigation, both sides suffer” (old Roman proverb) Here’s yet another reminder from our courts on how important it is – if you want to avoid the trials of litigation – for you to have your property sale agreement drawn up professionally.  One thing it must do, as the case in question clearly...
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