PROPERTY BUYERS: DON’T PAY THE SELLER’S OLD RATES WITHOUT LEGAL ADVICE!
You buy your dream house but are shocked to learn that (a) the seller still owes the municipality for old rates and taxes and (b) you can’t get a new electricity account unless and until you settle all these arrears. You point out how unfair it is that you are being asked to pay someone […]
HOUSES: TRANSFER TRUMPS INTENTION
“Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward” (Vernon Law) Never assume that you have any rights to a property just because the owner says that he/she intends to give you ownership, even if a sale agreement is signed. Make sure that you actually do take ownership via registration […]
MIXED USE PROPERTIES: WHAT RATES MUST YOU PAY?
Municipalities may levy rates on properties by valuing them and then applying a rate to them based on categories of permitted or actual usage, with “residential” properties traditionally attracting lower rates than “commercial”, “business” and “industrial” properties. What happens though when you own a mixed use property? Property owners will welcome a recent Supreme Court […]
DEVELOPERS: NEW HEALTH AND SAFETY CONSTRUCTION REGULATIONS
Anyone involved in construction work, including developers and other “clients”, “designers” (architects, engineers, interior designers etc) and contractors, should familiarise themselves with the Department of Labour’s new “Construction Regulations 2014” issued in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. These regulations currently apply to any construction that commenced after 7 February 2014 (earlier construction […]
HOUSES, COHABITATION, CO-OWNERSHIP, AND THE DANGER OF DISPUTE
“Communio est mater rixarum” (Roman law maxim meaning “Co-ownership is the mother of disputes”) A recent High Court case highlights once again the dangers of cohabiting without entering into a formal cohabitation agreement, particularly when substantial assets are acquired jointly. Things fall apart After living as a couple for 16 years, the parties – let’s […]
HOME OWNERS ASSOCIATIONS: CAN YOU BAN A HOME BUSINESS?
“…there is nothing contained in our law which prevents a property owner from agreeing to a limitation of its rights…” (Extract from judgment, below) All Home Owners Associations (“HOAs”) and their home owner members should be aware of a recent High Court judgment addressing the knotty problem of a HOA’s powers to bar an owner […]
RATES CLEARANCE: A NEW RISK FOR BUYERS?
Property buyers need to be aware of, and protect themselves against, a possible new risk. In a nutshell, you cannot take transfer of a property until the local municipality issues a “rates clearance certificate” confirming that all rates, service charges, levies etc due on the property have been paid in full. Your risk comes from […]
YOU, YOUR NEIGHBOUR, AND YOUR (SUDDENLY STRONGER) DEMOLITION REMEDY
Yet another court decision – this time in the High Court – underlines the growing readiness of courts to order demolition of any building work carried out without approved plans (or otherwise unlawfully). In the case in question, a demolition order was confirmed on the application of a neighbour. In other words, this was a […]
THE DEVELOPER, THE UPMARKET GOLF ESTATE, AND THE “ADEQUATE” CLUBHOUSE
“Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an even smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose” (Winston Churchill) Whether you are a keen golfer or not (Churchill seems to have been in the latter camp), and whatever your reasons for buying property, always keep this in […]
PROPERTY: TROUBLE WITH TRUSTS
“The best time to buy a home is always five years ago” (Ray Brown) Whether or not 2014 lives up to the forecasts of accelerating strength in the property market, you need to know that your sale or purchase of land will be invalid unless it complies strictly with these legal requirements: The sale must […]