The action for division of property is well established in South African law. Every co-owner of property may insist on a partition of the property at any time. This may be done even in the case where there is a perpetual joint ownership agreement.

Contracts for the sale of immovable property will very often contain suspensive conditions. One of the most common types of suspensive conditions is bond approval. 

In our June newsletter, we looked at an interesting court decision handed down in 2020 by the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court of South Africa, related to the application of electronic signatures to offers to purchase land. Last year, the electronic signing of documents once again came under the spotlight in the case of Firstrand Bank Limited v Jacques Louis Briedenhann. Interestingly, this decision was also handed down by the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court, which appears to be making groundbreaking decisions in this regard.

The property professional plays a critical role in the process of buying and selling real estate. When ‘making the deal’, they must engage with the seller to collect information and documentation that will be needed throughout the process. At the time of taking the mandate, it is crucial that they clarify certain facts and obtain specific information and documentation in order to pre-empt any issues that may arise, thus saving time.

As we live in an online world, and because of the recent pandemic, electronic signatures are becoming more commonplace – and an increasing number of buyers and sellers are asking to sign their OTPs electronically.