Gentle Reader
SWMBO and I are off to see the Namaqua flowers this weekend, and you will therefore not be hearing from me for about six weeks.
Regards
Daan
Practice News
- Afriforum has reportedly convinced the NPA to prosecute Juju for comments made by him relating to the former Bergview College principal (think crimen injuria and Matatiele). This is going to be interesting.
- Top Auto reported that the Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works was held liable for an accident where warning signs and so on were not maintained. Predictable.
- EWN reports that the past year has been a very busy one for consumer grievances as reported by the Consumer Goods and Service Ombud with e-commerce generating the most complaints.
- The Pareto Principle (80% of your attention should be focused on the upper 20% of clients) dictates who should receive the most attention but cannot dictate pricing discrimination: How the age-old 80/20 rule can cost you: Could your customer strategy constitute illegal price discrimination? – Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH)
- The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has launched draft regulations on commissioning documents by a Commissioner of Oaths which will allow electronic commissioning through an online portal where audio-visual communication with the person having to sign has been made. Good!
Hard news
- Prescription runs from the date of the building contractor failing to repair following the breach of a building warranty: Prescription runs from date of building contractor’s failure to repair
- An obligation to disclose a report is triggered only when the report, rendered by an expert, will be dealt with in court: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAFSHC/2026/381.html
- The following is an interesting case, dealing with adiation and repudiation of inheritance – a creditor sought to attach a beneficiary’s rights to an inheritance, whilst that heir opposed, saying that she had not adiated: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGPPHC/2026/818.html
- May an arbitrator, mero moto, clarify a prior award by addressing an aspect omitted from his award or is he functus officio? Yes: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGPPHC/2026/720.html
- A duces tecum application, to produce bank statements which are private, will be an abuse of process where such statements cannot substantiate a claim in the application procedure at hand: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAWCHC/2026/402.html
- Express agreement to mediate where one party will not oblige: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAWCHC/2026/407.html
Conveyancing
- Disabling an owner’s biometric access to a sectional scheme, as a result of a levy dispute, amounts to spoliation: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAFSHC/2026/381.html
- The following case deals with the validity of an affidavit, attested by a notary in Verona, he having not fully complied with the completion of the attesting form – accepted by the court: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAWCHC/2026/392.html
Property
Trends
- The FNB House Price Index accelerated to 4.5% y/y in August. This is the fastest average annual house price growth in three years.
- Banks are not significantly increasing mortgage lending.
- The Daily Investor reported that our burgeoning township economy is attracting growing interest from property developers – think retail centres.
- Rental inflation in the Western Cape exceeds general inflation: Western Cape Rental inflation – Codera Analytics
News
- Most municipalities do not function well; when Newsday reports your local authority as the worst in South Africa – that is quite something: Maluti-a-Phofung – think Harrismith and QuaQua.
- Whilst on this tack, The Citizen has reported that the DA will lay criminal charges against the municipal managers from some of our worst-performing municipalities. A cynical but considered question would be ‘which policeman would be tasked with this’?
- Joburg is ostensibly our leading RSA and possibly one of the primary powerhouses of Africa: yet, without a shadow of a doubt, this municipality is in trouble. We all know that the State is loathe in paying bills – the provincial, National Government and State-Owned Enterprises owe this city some R1.44bn which undoubtedly contributes to the state of disrepair of this city.
- “Spatial apartheid”, meaning the discriminatory use of land other than for affordable housing; coined by a News24 report on a retired judge lecturing the Cape Town Mayor on the cities’ failure to adequately address apartheid-era spatial inequality.
- A property auction, held in Durban, achieved the highest price ever for an single property on public auction, i.e. R285.5m.
Legal stuff
- How does one challenge conduct in a sectional scheme which is unfair? When Conduct Rules Go Too Far: Your Rights in a Sectional Title Scheme – Cilliers & Reynders | Attorneys in Centurion, Thabazimbi and Johannesburg
- An interesting article on colleagues, having broken the mould by introducing a fixed-fee conveyancing model, is worth a look: JGS launches fixed-fee conveyancing model
- A proposed amendment to the Electronic Deeds Registration and Recordal Systems Act deals primarily with the validity of client copies of the registered deed.
Lighten up
Pareto?
- The Group Project: 20% of the group does 80% of the work. The other 80% of the group shows up just in time to put their names on the title page.
- The IT Rule: Fixing 20% of the computer bugs takes 80% of your time. The remaining 80% of the bugs fix themselves when you walk away.
- The Closet Truth: You wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time. The other 80% of your clothes just hang there to look pretty and take up space.
Contributed by:
Daan Steenkamp
daan@delberg.co.za
012 3615001
www.delberg.co.za
