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Property Law and Sectional Title
In property sales, the most contentious issues rarely surface during negotiations — they emerge after transfer, when defects are discovered and expectations collide with reality. South African law draws a clear legal distinction between latent and patent defects, and that distinction often determines who carries the cost when problems arise.
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The Property Practitioners Act imposes a detailed and enforceable framework for how property practitioners must conduct themselves in practice. It touches everything from how records are stored and how deals are marketed, to who you can work with and what happens if you get it wrong.
A recent judgment handed down by the Western Cape High Court has brought much-needed clarity to a question that estate agents, sellers, and property attorneys frequently encounter: Can a party claim commission simply because they facilitated a sale — even if they're not named in the signed sale agreement?
Waterfall Estate operates on a 99-year leasehold system — but unlike a standard fixed-term lease, this agreement is automatically renewable, making it a far more stable and enduring arrangement than the term might initially suggest. Under this model, residents do not purchase the land itself. Instead, they acquire a long-term leasehold right to occupy and use the property for a 99-year period.
A notarial tie is a restriction registered against two or more properties, binding them together without merging their titles. Consolidation, by contrast, physically combines the properties into a single erf with one title deed. Although both are used to satisfy zoning or planning conditions, each carries distinct consequences for ownership, development, and future transactions.
A suspensive condition suspends the effect of a sale agreement until a specific event occurs — typically bond approval, the sale of another property, or municipal clearance. If the condition is not fulfilled by the agreed deadline, the agreement lapses without consequence. But that simplicity is deceptive.
Section 67 of the Property Practitioners Act is not a guideline. It is a hard legal line. It states that no mandate may be accepted by a property practitioner unless the seller or landlord has first provided a completed and signed disclosure form. Despite this, many in the property industry continue to treat disclosure as an administrative afterthought — or worse, a courtesy that can be skipped if inconvenient.
Spoliation is one of those legal concepts that often surfaces during disputes over possession — especially in property, residential, and commercial contexts. It deals with a very specific scenario: when someone takes the law into their own hands and unlawfully deprives another of possession of property, without going through the proper legal channels.
The obligation for developers to hand over specific documents at the first general meeting is set out in the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act (STSMA) and the Prescribed Management Rules (PMRs). These rules are not optional; they exist to ensure continuity, transparency, and accountability from the outset of the scheme’s life.
In sectional title schemes, trustees play a crucial role in overseeing the day-to-day management of the scheme on behalf of the body corporate. But what happens when those trustees fail to act in the scheme’s best interests — or worse, cause harm through mismanagement or misconduct?
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