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Property Law and Sectional Title
A suspensive condition suspends the effect of a sale agreement until a specific event occurs — typically bond approval, the sale of another property, or municipal clearance. If the condition is not fulfilled by the agreed deadline, the agreement lapses without consequence. But that simplicity is deceptive.
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Section 67 of the Property Practitioners Act is not a guideline. It is a hard legal line. It states that no mandate may be accepted by a property practitioner unless the seller or landlord has first provided a completed and signed disclosure form. Despite this, many in the property industry continue to treat disclosure as an administrative afterthought — or worse, a courtesy that can be skipped if inconvenient.
Spoliation is one of those legal concepts that often surfaces during disputes over possession — especially in property, residential, and commercial contexts. It deals with a very specific scenario: when someone takes the law into their own hands and unlawfully deprives another of possession of property, without going through the proper legal channels.
The obligation for developers to hand over specific documents at the first general meeting is set out in the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act (STSMA) and the Prescribed Management Rules (PMRs). These rules are not optional; they exist to ensure continuity, transparency, and accountability from the outset of the scheme’s life.
In sectional title schemes, trustees play a crucial role in overseeing the day-to-day management of the scheme on behalf of the body corporate. But what happens when those trustees fail to act in the scheme’s best interests — or worse, cause harm through mismanagement or misconduct?
Johlene Wasserman, the driving force behind VDM Attorneys' community scheme and compliance division, worked for both the CSOS and the PPRA and understands schemes and their legal complexities. She has positioned herself at the forefront of community scheme and property practitioner compliance, protecting the interests of homeowners, tenants, and trustees alike.
In a landmark judgment handed down by the Gauteng Division of the High Court, the court made it clear that bodies corporate may not withhold a levy clearance certificate as a means of enforcing compliance with scheme rules or municipal laws — where all financial obligations to the body corporate have already been met.
When you apply for rezoning, you’re asking the municipality to approve a different use than what’s currently allowed. For example, turning a single residential stand into a multi-unit development site, converting a house into a set of offices, or changing a farm portion into suburban residential land.
The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) plays a central role in reviewing and approving any subdivision or conversion of farmland. Their mandate isn’t commercial—it’s agricultural sustainability. This means land that is suitable for farming is automatically viewed as a strategic resource.
Rezoning applications can take anywhere from six months to two years—sometimes even longer. While municipalities offer general time estimates, the actual duration depends on a range of unpredictable factors, many of which are outside the applicant’s control.
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