News:
- Lady Justice with her foot on a tortoise – does that image portray slow and sure or just slow? A free state judge has been on special leave since 2023, for a pending charge of theft, money laundering and contempt of court, but has had no charges laid against him with the JSC. That judge had applied for a stay of prosecution which was not granted. Slow!
- On this topic, a recent De Rebus article dealt with the requirements for a stay of prosecution: https://www.derebus.org.za/when-justice-takes-too-long-the-case-for-a-permanent-stay-of-prosecution/
- Recidivism: an interesting article on our parole system and its effectiveness in promoting rehabilitation, states that our parole system’s effectiveness is compromised by prison overcrowding, resource constraints, insufficient post-release assistance and erratic risk evaluation: https://ssbfnet.com/ojs/index.php/ijrbs/article/view/4489/3094
- CPA/NCA pipedream; susceptible consumers, think those who lack self- control when buying on credit. The suggested solution is a restriction on advertising and published warnings to exercise self-control! https://perjournal.co.za/article/view/21303/25127
- An article on Mutual Termination Agreements (read where an employer and employee agree to terminate employment), could have the result that an employee waives rights for dispute resolution, and potentially bypass prescribed procedures: https://perjournal.co.za/article/view/21831/25249
- Jaundiced old-age? I cannot but wonder how many boards actually attempt to implement the King V guidance notes; somehow a portion thereof sounds wishy-washy: crholdings.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/King-V-and-FIC-Guidance-Note-7A.pdf?
- An article on abduction incidentally noted that the ransom, recovered from the perpetrator, had been declared forfeited to the state – I had assumed that such a sum would be given back to those who paid? https://www.netwerk24.com/nuus/hof/losprys-vir-ontvoerde-matie-student-aan-staat-verbeurd-verklaar-20260215-1048?
- Trust deeds, if successful, typically run for very long periods and require amendment from time to time. Adding or substituting beneficiaries can be quite awkward as the contractual nature of an inter vivos trust requires beneficiaries to consent. Can this common law requirement be overridden by an appropriate clause in the trust deed? https://www.derebus.org.za/variation-of-the-trust-deed-beneficiary-consent/
- An interesting article on the pay first and argue later stance by SARS holds that if substantial security is given, SARS should waive such payments: https://dailyinvestor.com/finance/119928/taxpayers-get-a-new-weapon-against-sars/?
- BBBE, depending on your take, has been a thorn in the side of the development of business for some time. A new approach is on the cards, which provides for new scoring if the business concerned spends money on enterprise and supplier development.
- An article on the rights of children, as opposed to the rights of the parents, received by an injured person in condonation applications, would be of interest to RAF practitioners: https://www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/export/sites/cdh/news/publications/2026/South-Africa/Dispute-Resolution/Downloads/Dispute-Resolution-Alert-17-February-2026.pdf
Hard news
- RAF; past medical aid benefits are irrelevant to the RAF’s liability: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAWCHC/2026/39.html
- Proximity of churches and schools, for the purpose of granting a liquor licence: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGPPHC/2026/57.html
- Can heirs intervene in a claim for spousal maintenance? https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGPJHC/2026/118.html
- Eviction and spoliation: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGPJHC/2026/90.html
- Tenant becoming insolvent, resulting in a claim against the insolvent’s surety: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGPJHC/2026/104.html, and https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAGPJHC/2026/103.html
- CSOS and solar panels: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAKZDHC/2026/10.html
- The threshold for displacing the presumption of judicial impartiality: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZAWCHC/2026/54.html
Conveyancing and property
- Conveyancers would have noted that the powers-that-be have pressed on substantially with eDRS and, despite any qualms regarding the functioning of that system, appears intent on launching electronic lodgement shortly. At the same time, a Land Rights Registration Bill has been circulated for comment. The stated purpose of the bill is to “provide for the transformation of the deeds registration system or procedures and to repeal the deeds registries act as well as the implementation of EDRS”. See: www.lssa.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/CHAPTERS-1-TO-5-LRR-BILL.pdf
- Buying for cash is best? The difficulty with such a property purchase, is that the purchaser ties up a large portion of cash and limits his financial flexibility. (Drawn off a long-winded Property 24 article)
- Developers and those seeking subdivision of ostensibly agricultural land may find benefit from this article: https://www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/en/news/publications/2026/South-Africa/Agriculture-Aquaculture-Fishing/Agriculture-aquaculture-and-fishing-alert-11-February-Lessons-on-subdivision-SALA-and-food-security-from-the-Tridevco-judgment
- An article in challenging the CSOS authority over homeowners’ associations may be found at: https://businesstech.co.za/news/property/850164/levy-warning-for-owners-in-complexes-and-estates-in-south-africa/
- Whilst on the topic of CSOS, an article on the choice of forum in CSOS disputes is worth a look: www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/export/sites/cdh/news/publications/2026/South-Africa/Real-Estate-Law-Conveyancing/Downloads/Real-Estate-Law-Conveyancing-Alert-10-February-2026.pdf
- A long-standing debate, surrounding rural homes and the security that they offer for borrowing, has resurfaced. The fact is that if such owners could borrow against their cash-built properties, it would increase their financial leverage immeasurably. If politicians were able, in some way or another, to unlock such access, it would release trillions of rand into our economy.
- The Conventional Penalties Act limits the impact of contractual penalties and disrupts the strict interpretation of the pacta sunt servanda principle: https://stbb.co.za/all-about-property-when-deadlines-matter-deposit-forfeiture-and-the-conventional-penalties-act/
- Transfer duty payments and how these are captured have changed – specifically dealing with the income tax number of the parties involved – worth a look for conveyancers: https://stbb.co.za/all-about-property-sars-enhances-transfer-duty-requirements-implications-for-property-transactions/
- Rigid Body Corporate rules, disregarding the needs of visually impaired persons, are unfair and may be struck down on application: https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZASCA/2026/16.html
- Who is liable if a conveyancer pays a developer who becomes insolvent, if such payment is not fully within the limits imposed by the Housing Development Schemes for Retired Persons Act? https://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2026/6.html
- To my knowledge, there has been no news on the Johannesburg High Court class action, in which dispossessed homeowners take on our banks over homes that were allegedly sold at below market value.
- Dysfunction:
- The ‘outage’ of Johannesburg’s billing platform has affected some 1.5 million municipal accounts. This has caused transfers of the affected properties to grind to a halt, as rates certificates cannot be obtained.
- The Pietermaritzburg deeds office had, at the time of writing, been laid lame by a six-day water ‘outage’, ostensibly caused by labour dissatisfaction in the Msunduzi municipality. The fact is that our municipality has, like most other municipalities, shelved upkeep of infrastructure in favour of (one hesitates to say this) upliftment of their own. The financial impact of such a hiatus cannot be understated; aside from hundreds of millions of rand not being released into the economy, there is the cost of replacing advertisements, rates certificates and the like. And, last, but not least, if a conveyancing practice loses six out of twenty work-days, it will show no profit for that month. (PS, on Monday 23 February, the deeds office again was without water)
- Economist Roelof Botha says that home price increases have not kept up with our construction input price rises. Generally speaking, one cannot build a house for the price that one purchases a similar house second-hand.
- CRC 3/2025, dealing with the determination of the value of a lease for registration fees, has suspended RRCR 4/2025. The difficulty, highlighted by West, is that it is not always possible to accurately determine the rental value of a lease. The above CRC provides that where a lease agreement does not disclose the total consideration of the lease, a notarial certificate may be accepted in which the total lease consideration is disclosed. Not much of a solution: ask me for a copy.
Lighten Up
Cash or credit:
“They say money talks, but mine just waves goodbye”.
Acquaintance, n.: A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to. Bierce
People are living longer than ever before, a phenomenon undoubtedly made necessary by the 30-year mortgage. Larson
Contributed by:
Daan Steenkamp Attorneys
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