Advice &amp; News

Court ruling: Sale of immovable property – Alienation of Land Act

In the recent case of Potgieter v Village and others, held at the High Court of South Africa, Northern Cape Division, Kimberly, the applicant applied for an urgent interdict to restrain the first and second respondents from passing transfer of a specific property. The application for the interdict was pending action by the applicant to claim transfer of the property. In this case, both parties to the contract were represented by their attorneys.

March 2, 2022

The Property Practitioners Act 22 of 2019: what you need to know

In 2017, the Government undertook to interrogate the Estate Agency Affairs Act and replace it with one it deemed more suitable. The result was the Property Practitioners Act (PPA), which came into effect on 1 February 2022. In this article, we’ll be touching on some of the highlights – or lowlights, depending on your point of view – of this new act.

March 2, 2022

Protection at last for black women in marriage

In terms of section 22(6) of the Black Administrations Act 38 of 1927 (BAA), all black marriages in South Africa were deemed to be out of community of property – and this default position was perpetuated by the Matrimonial Property Act 88 of 1984. In contrast, the default position for all other races in South African matrimonial law was, and continues to be, in community of property.

January 31, 2022

Suspensive conditions revisited in the Cape Royal case

South Africa’s law of contract provides several ways in which contracting parties can protect and enforce their contractual rights. The most essential principle of contract is party autonomy – parties to a contract are free to conclude what they have agreed to, and the courts have a duty to enforce this agreement as far as possible provided it is not against the law.

January 31, 2022

Court ruling: Customary marriages

The validity of customary marriages recently came before the Western Cape High Court in the matter of T Diba vs E Miselo and one other. Central to the case were questions around the validity of the marriage itself as well as whether or not involvement of the family is critical to the recognition of customary marriages.

December 7, 2021

Property transfer costs: Who pays what?

The buyer and seller of a property are responsible for certain costs associated with the transfer process. Here’s a look at who’s liable for what.

December 7, 2021

Pay with complete peace of mind

With cybercrime on the increase globally, the team at Snymans is increasingly aware of the importance of safeguarding both our clients and our business against cyber criminals when it comes to making and receiving electronic payments. In fact, phishing crimes have become such a cause for concern in South Africa that the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Fund has declared that it will not make good on insurance claims arising from these types of crimes.

December 7, 2021

Market News

2021 Year-end wrap up: Jansen Snyman

Dear Clients, Colleagues and Friends. We’ll remember 2020 as the year the world as we knew it was turned on its head. For most of that year we looked, in the words of Mark Twain, like an envelope without an address.

November 30, 2021

What is a stipulatio alteri?

A stipulatio alteri is a clause that provides rights and benefits to a third party. In case law (Loggenberg NO v Maree (286/17) 2018 ZASCA 24), the typical stipulatio alteri is defined as a contract for the benefit of a third party.

November 30, 2021

A closer look at section 29 of the FIC Act

In an earlier article on the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA), we explained that the main objective of the Act is to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities. In this article, we’ll continue the discussion in terms of the duty of accountable institutions to report suspicious transactions to the Finance Intelligence Centre (FIC).

November 30, 2021

A closer look at section 28 of the FIC Act

In South Africa, money laundering describes any activity in which money that originates from illegal activity is concealed. To combat this illegal process, South African law has implemented control measures aimed at assisting in its detection and investigation.

October 28, 2021

The Makuleke Community Land Claims

During the apartheid years, several communities, including the Makuleke community, were forcibly removed from their land in order for it to be assimilated into the Greater Kruger National Park.

October 28, 2021

Transfer of a property and provision for mistakes

It’s an unfortunate reality that mistakes do sometimes occur in deeds and documents during the transfer process. Fortunately, however, the Deeds Registries Act makes provision for mistakes of this nature to be rectified.Major errors Major errors are mistakes linked to the transfer of ownership and related dealings like the registration or cancellation of bonds. Let’s say, for example, a client purchases property A but instead receives property B, while another client purchases property B but instead receives property A. In this instance, a rectification transfer is required that must clearly

October 28, 2021

The importance of a signed OTP

The Alienation of Land Act (ALA) clearly states that the validity of an Offer to Purchase (OTP) depends on the contract for the sale of immovable property being in writing and signed by the concerned parties or their authorised representatives acting on their written instruction. And the importance of signatures on an agreement of sale has once again been highlighted by a recent decision handed down by the Gauteng Local Division of the High Court in Johannesburg.

September 28, 2021