Source: Compeg The rapidly increasing cost of electricity has resulted in a growth in popularity among many South African home-owners to utilise gas installations in their homes. However, most homeowners are unaware that there are specific regulations that they must comply with when installing gas equipment in their homes to ensure their insurance policy… Continue Reading
Your rights as a Residential Tenant
There is a useful article on our website concerning residential leases and the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants governed by the Rental Housing Act, 1999 (e.g. what terms the lease must contain, the obligation on the landlord to invest your deposit in an interest-bearing account, the obligations on the parties to list any… Continue Reading
How To Identify Real Estate Fraud
How to Identify Real Estate Fraud Encountering property fraud can be one of the worst experiences in your life. Knowing how to identify these scams can help your family to avoid unnecessary loss and litigation. Although there are many different scams, the most common scams involve fake realtors using real listings to make themselves appear… Continue Reading
Boundary Walls – problems with your neighbour?
Disputes surrounding boundary walls in residential and commercial areas are one of the most controversial topics facing homeowners. These relate to the location of the boundary between the two properties, or when trees or plants encroach on or overhang the other property, or when the wall (or work done on it) causes a nuisance or… Continue Reading
Does a municipality need a court order prior to terminating electricity to premises?
Anva Properties CC // End Street Entertainment Enterprises CC Anva Properties (The Applicant) sought an order authorizing it to terminate the electricity supply to a unit in a building situated in Cape Town. The matter was heard in the Western Cape High Court in April 2015. The Applicant is the owner of the building and… Continue Reading
Sectional Title Owners – Who is responsible for Excess Payments on Insurance Claims?
Owners in sectional title schemes believe – incorrectly – that because the body corporate insures the common property it must pay any insurance excesses (e.g. for a burst geyser)). In fact, the Sectional Title Act provides that the owner in a sectional title scheme is responsible for all excess payments on insurance claims – unless… Continue Reading
Can new owners be held liable for historic municipal debt on their property?
In the case of Jordaan v Tshwane municipality, the Constitutional court handed down a judgment on 29 August 2017, dealing with the constitutional validity of S118(3) of the Local Government Municipal Systems Act, which provided that “an amount due for municipal service fees, surcharges on fees, property rates and other municipal taxes, levies and… Continue Reading
The Two Body Corporate Funds
Sectional Title – the need to keep two separate body corporate funds Bodies Corporate must now keep 2 funds, a ‘reserve’ and an ‘administrative’ fund. This is prescribed by the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act 8 of 2011 [“the STSMA”) and the Prescribed Management Rules [“PMRs”] contained in Annexure 1 to the Regulations. 1.Reserve fund… Continue Reading
Servitudes Can Affect the Value of a Property.
By Helen Grange hgrange@mweb.co.za When you’re hunting for a property, it’s important to ask the right questions, and one of them should be: ‘is there a servitude?’ The presence of a servitude can affect the value of a property for both buyers and sellers, if a property owner is unable to fully exercise his… Continue Reading
Penalty for early cancellation of a residential lease
What rights does a landlord have if a tenant cancels the residential lease, before it ends? The tenant has the right to cancel the lease at any time (on 20 business days’ notice) in terms of the Consumer Protection Act (subject to payment of a reasonable penalty) for premature cancellation. But what is such a… Continue Reading
