Browsing: Property Law

The High Court in Cape Town has clarified that disputes about historical rental debts do not by themselves create a defence to commercial eviction after a lease is cancelled.

Legal expert Johlene Wasserman says a recent High Court judgment clarifies the law on digital estate access but does not give HOAs free rein to restrict residents.

The High Court in Pretoria has ruled that a homeowners’ association acted unlawfully by disabling a resident’s biometric access while a levy dispute was still before the courts. Acting Judge D van den Bogert found the association resorted to self-help and ordered it to immediately restore the homeowner’s and her tenants’ fingerprint and facial recognition access.

A court has upheld eThekwini Municipality’s decision to disconnect electricity and impose penalty rates after finding trustees failed to prove the municipality acted unlawfully in responding to an illegal development encroaching on protected municipal land.

A homeowner has won leave to appeal after arguing that forcing the sale of her primary residence to recover unpaid estate levies was an excessive response.

A newly built home found to be uninhabitable because of major structural defects is at the centre of a legal dispute that will now proceed to trial.

The High Court in Johannesburg ordered a law firm to return a R500 000 property deposit held in trust since a failed 2017 property sale and to prove the money remains in its trust account.

The High Court in Mbombela has ruled that municipalities cannot classify student accommodation as commercial property simply because it is privately owned and operated for profit.

Two recent Community Schemes Ombud Service rulings highlight how disputes involving developers and owners can fail because of a lack of legal standing or insufficient evidence before the merits are even considered.

The Land Court set aside an eviction order against several long-term Konstabel farm residents, ruling the process was neither lawful nor just and ordering mediation instead.