Property
Trends:
- With inflation seemingly under control, the expectation is that more aggressive interest rate cuts will follow, which should stimulate our property market.
- The residential market has stabilised, with isolated spots showing real price increases, such as the West Coast and, of course, Cape Town, with Gauteng apparently also picking up.
- An interesting statistic, drawn from Propertywheel, is the value of commercial property in each of our provinces:
- Airbnb says research shows that short-term rentals do not drive up home rentals significantly.
News:
- Much has been said about construction mafias that will be contained;
factually, news holds that this ongoing and worsening lawlessness has had a “chilling” effect on real estate projects, which is often exacerbated by governmental neglect. A few examples are there for all to see – the Mtentu bridge and the Sarah Baartman Centre. The Minister of Public Works said that these mafiosi create uncertainty in our government’s ability to deliver projects on time and on budget. Heck, there was even talk of calling in the SANDF!
- Dilapidated municipal infrastructure is not news but, for the first time (?) our water and sanitation Minister has attributed this to self-inflicted pain by municipalities who do not want to cooperate. The fact is that maintenance neglect and failure to collect payment is at the root of most of the issues at hand. Consumer satisfaction with (local) government in voting is at an all-time low, as may be seen from the following article: https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/796723/quality-of-life-in-gauteng-tanks-to-new-low/
- The best and worst run municipalities have been named. For the best, one has but to look at where we semigrate to: Cape Town, Mossel Bay, George, Somerset West, Durbanville and so on. The worst run municipalities are listed at https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/794767/the-worst-run-municipalities-in-south-africa/
Legal stuff:
- May a municipality charge interest on arrear rates? Yes: https://stbb.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/stbb_plu22-2024-s1.pdf
- Gated estates may not limit residents to a single internet service provider, i.e. create fibre monopolies; per the Competition Commission.
- Why do sale contracts include a voetstoots clause? https://www.tcinc.co.za/OurInsights/ArticleDetail.aspx?Title=Voetstoots-and-the-Sellers-obligation
Practice
News:
- The recent election of members of the LPFF Board was somewhat of a disaster, as may be seen from the following article: https://www.derebus.org.za/nadel-secures-favourable-outcome-in-dispute-over-lpff-board-elections/
- Judge Mabindla-Boqwana was nominated to serve as the Western Cape Judge President by the JSC. She served as judge in that High Court between 2013 and 2017 and has served in the Appellate Division since 2022.
- The RAF has lodged a petition to the Judge President of the SCA for reconsideration of the judgement by the SCA against it in its dispute with the AG. Judging from newspaper reports, the legislation underlying the RAF will probably be reassessed.
- The Marriage Bill awaits approval by the National Assembly.
- The Durban Master’s office has serious IT issues and most of its staff members have no functioning phone lines and most are battling with email connectivity as well as connecting to the DOJ servers. Think outdated IT infrastructure.
- I have often wondered how organs of state can escape liability on invalid contracts that they themselves engineered; the following article deals with just this: https://www.ensafrica.com/news/detail/9310/constitutional-court-upholds-the-rights-of-in
- If labour law is your thing, then this article is quite instructive: https://bowmanslaw.com/insights/south-africa-employment-case-law-update-key-takeaways-4/
- A restraint of trade is often built into employment contracts. A failed attempt to enforce such a restraint may be seen at https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGPJHC/2024/1067.html
Hard news
Two De Rebus articles are worth noting:
- If spouses conclude a civil marriage after having married under customary law, they may not then enter into an ANC: https://www.derebus.org.za/customary-marriages-a-balance-finally-struck/
- May one apply for the reduction of a maintenance order whilst in arrears? No: https://www.derebus.org.za/is-it-possible-to-challenge-a-maintenance-order-while-in-arrears/
- Non-residents’ liability for tax on receipts from a South African registered trust can be problematical and you should see an expert: https://www.webberwentzel.com/News/Pages/non-resident-beneficiaries-of-resident-trusts-and-the-2023-amendments-to-s-25b.aspx
- In a similar vein, is the following article, dealing with circumstances in which the conduit principle (as applied to trusts) will not apply when it comes to CGT: https://www.chmlegal.co.za/landmark-constitutional-court-ruling-conduit-principle-and-capital-gains-tax
- More on piercing the corporate veil: https://www.tcinc.co.za/OurInsights/ArticleDetail.aspx?Title=Where-does-director-liability-end?
- Sureties; no contract of suretyship shall be valid unless the undertaking is embedded in a written document signed by the surety. Clause 19 of the following case says that a signature includes an initial – in this case the defendant sought to escape on the ground that he had only initialled all the pages of the document: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGPPHC/2024/1045.html
Conveyancing
- The Communal Property Associations Amendment Act has been signed into law. Practitioners should note that communal property associations generally do not work well and are not necessarily a great solution to communal ownership. The problem is that there is little else that cater well for such ownership as communities are really have the will and the means to regulate themselves!
- The names of the deeds registries in South Africa were changed on 10 October. Ask me for a copy of the government notice.
Lighten up
- Q: Why did God make snakes just before lawyers?
A: To practice.
- Q: What do you get when you cross the Godfather with a lawyer?
A: An offer you can’t understand.
Blonde: I’m getting married to a luxury realtor tomorrow. He’s so dreamy. Check out the diamond engagement ring he sold me.
What does an attorney’s wife say if she can’t sleep? “Honey, tell me about your day at work.”
Old but still relevant:
Written by: Daan Steenkamp
https://www.daansteenkampattorneys.co.za/
Still looking for your dream home, or wanting to sell? Feel free to give one of our developers a call today.
Tom Eastwick – The Gates, Hilton and Garlington, Hilton | 072 297 2699 | tom@devdirect.co.za
Janet Channing – Waterford Residential Estate, Howick | 082 570 5834 | janet@devdirect.co.za