“Where one of the parties wishes to be absolved either wholly or partially from an obligation or liability which would or could arise at common law under a contract of the kind which the parties intend to conclude, it is for that party to ensure that the extent to which he, she or it is to be absolved is plainly spelt out.” (Extract from judgment below)

Employee theft has been a headache for employers from the dawn of history, and no business should ignore the dangers it poses, particularly if your business handles third-party high value goods. Your chances of being sued if one of your employees steals a customer’s asset/s are high, the reason being of course the concept of “vicarious liability” – the legal rule that can make you generally liable for your employee’s actions.

Your best defence (other naturally than taking steps to stop light-fingered employees from stealing in the first place!) is the “exemption” or “disclaimer” clause. It can present a formidable obstacle to any customer (or their insurer) seeking to hold you liable, but it needs to be professionally drawn, unambiguous, and tailored to suit your particular industry, circumstances and contracts.

A recent Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) decision illustrates –

The cargo thief who stole R4.5m worth of computers

A customer imported by air freight some R4.5m worth of computers and accessories, and contracted a clearing and forwarding agent to receive and forward them to the customer from the SAA cargo warehouse.

The agent’s employee, armed with his “identity verification system” card and the necessary custom release documents, collected and loaded the consignment into an unmarked truck, signed the cargo delivery slip, and disappeared with his loot.

Sued by the customer for its losses, the agent relied on the exemption clauses in its Standard Trading Terms and Conditions. These clauses were comprehensive and widely worded which, as we shall see below, proved central to the agent’s legal victory here.

On appeal the SCA dismissed the claim against the agent on the basis that it had been able to prove that its liability was excluded by the exemption clauses. Let’s see how it achieved that…

Employers – can you be sued?

Without an enforceable exemption clause in its standard contract, the employer in this case would have been liable for R4.5m (plus substantial legal costs).

Critically, the forwarding agent’s success here resulted from the Court’s interpretation of the wording of these particular clauses, in the context of this particular contract, and in the particular circumstances of this matter. Any ambiguity in meaning would have been fatal for it, and it was particularly assisted in this case by the fact that it had made special provision in the contract for “goods requiring special arrangements”. In other words, make sure your contracts all contain unambiguously worded exemption clauses tailored to your specific industry and circumstances.

Customers – can you sue?

Read and understand the contracts you sign, follow any requirements applying to specified or “valuable” goods, and take professional advice if you are unhappy with any of the terms. The reality is however that few service providers will be prepared to compromise on exemption clauses, which leaves you vulnerable unless you have the right type of insurance cover – check upfront!

Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your professional adviser for specific and detailed advice.

© LawDotNews

“A prodigal is a person who, through some defect of character or will, squanders his or her assets with such abandon that he or she threatens to reduce himself or herself and/or her dependents to destitution” (extract from judgment below)

What can you do when someone you know (often but not always an elderly relative and/or someone with a gambling, drug or drink problem) starts squandering their money and property irresponsibly and recklessly? Note that we are talking here not about a mentally ill person but about someone “of sound mind but unsound habits”.

The good news is that you don’t have to look on helplessly while they spend themselves (and their dependants if they have any) into destitution. Our law provides a remedy in the form of a High Court order declaring the person to be a “prodigal” and appointing a curator bonis to manage their financial affairs.

It is however a drastic remedy, and you will have to make out a clear and strong case to succeed. Let’s look at a practical example –

The “hard drinker” accused of giving his estate to prostitutes

• After a 30 year “romantic relationship” soured and ended, one partner sued the other for R2m (or 50% of his estate), repayment of R15k, and maintenance of R7,500 p.m. On the receiving end of this claim was a 68-year-old “semi-retired bookkeeper” who defended it on the basis that he and his former co-habitant had never intended to create a joint estate nor to form a partnership.
• She then applied for him to be declared a prodigal and “incapable of managing his own affairs”. She claimed that he was “being manipulated and needed assistance” and that he was “busy alienating and giving his estate to prostitutes” to her prejudice. Already a “hard drinker”, she said that “his intake of alcohol had tripled on a daily basis since he got involved with prostitutes”.
• The man’s version was very different. He admitted spending more than his income but said this “was not out of the ordinary”, he denied spending irresponsibly and said he wasn’t as reckless or wasteful as alleged, the only change in his drinking habits had been a move to drinking at home rather than at the pub since the pandemic struck, he “considered his girlfriend and her daughter as special and wanted to contribute financially towards their well-being” and he was continuing to contribute to his ex-partner’s financial needs “as he always did for the last 30 years”.
• In dismissing the application, the Court commented that to be declared a prodigal “would be one of the most drastic remedies in the law for the protection of a major person which had the potential to impact on his constitutionally protected rights such as dignity, privacy and freedom … A court will not appoint a curator bonis until it is absolutely satisfied that the patient has to be protected against loss which would be caused because the patient is unable to manage his affairs.” (Emphasis supplied)
• The onus to prove your case is on you as applicant, and it is a heavy one: “The appointment of a curator constitutes an interference with the right of the person concerned to manage his own affairs. The right should not lightly be interfered with, especially not on the basis of what amounts to no more than vague and unsubstantiated allegations … A proper enquiry into the mental condition of the alleged patient should be held before a court could interfere with the right of an adult to control his own affairs.”
• “It is clear” concluded the Court “that no real factual basis was laid to justify the granting of the relief sought”. Application dismissed, with costs.

Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your professional adviser for specific and detailed advice.

© LawDotNews

“Avoiding a decision is itself a decision … probably the wrong one”

Decisions, decisions – we spend our days making them, most of them minor but every now and then a really big, important one comes along. Perhaps it’s something like  “Should I resign my 9-to-5 and start up that artisanal bakery business I’ve always dreamed of?” or “Should we sell up and move to the coast?” or even “Should we list on the JSE?”.

Whatever difficult decision may be looming over you, remember that delay is tempting but unwise. Rather grab the nettle with the “9 key points” in Psyche’s article “How to make a difficult decision” here.

Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your professional adviser for specific and detailed advice.

© LawDotNews

“Happiness is… buying your first home” (Anon)

Few things in life can compare to the joy of finally crossing the threshold of your first home. If you are like most of us, you have been dreaming of this day for years and years – it has finally arrived!

The financial bonus of course is that you have probably just made one of the most important investment decisions you will ever make.

Here are some guidelines to help you make a wise decision on both counts –

Step 1: What’s your price range?

First step is to work out what price range you are looking at, and that’s a function of deciding how much you have on hand and how much you will be able to pay every month for the privilege of owning your own home.

And whilst it’s always tempting to over-commit yourself, over-confidence as to how far you can stretch your budget is a mistake likely to end in tears. So keep reminding yourself to be realistic when you work out what your new monthly costs will be.

Checking your credit score at this stage will also avoid any unpleasant surprises when you come to apply for a bond.

What will your monthly costs be?

• Your bond repayments: Your big monthly expense is likely to be your monthly bond instalments, so start off by using one of the many online calculators to establish how much you will be able to borrow on a home loan without breaking your budget when it comes to the repayments. Think carefully about how happy you will be with the lifestyle you can afford after paying your bond every month.
  
  When you first apply for a bond shop around for the best interest rate and, with rates already starting to rise again, be absolutely certain that even if interest rates do at some stage return to the high levels we have seen in the past, you will always be able to afford the monthly repayments.
  
  Get a bank pre-approval here – with today’s restrictions on credit grantors when it comes to responsible lending practices, it will help you gauge affordability. And as a bonus, it gives you a great negotiating tool when you move on to the offer stage!
• Other monthly costs: Then – and this is an important aspect easily overlooked in the excitement of your purchase – remember to factor in all the other monthly expenses that come with property ownership. Think homeowner’s insurance, rates/taxes/levies, home security services, services like electricity and water and the like.
  
  When budgeting for home and garden maintenance costs, include a provision for long-term expenses like repainting, roof repairs and so on.

How much cash will you need upfront?

• The cash deposit: Unless you can pay the full purchase price in cash, you will need to raise a home loan (bond). And although you might perhaps qualify for a 100% bond, most first-time buyers will need to pay at least a 5% to 10% cash deposit.
• Bond costs: Your bond needs to be registered in the Deeds Office by the bank’s attorneys. Provide for both the registration costs and the bank’s initiation fee.
• Transfer costs: Unless your sale agreement provides otherwise (very unlikely), you will be paying the transfer costs to the conveyancer (“transferring attorney”) attending to the registration of the property into your name in the Deeds Office.
• Transfer duty: Unless there’s VAT on the sale, the sale agreement will almost certainly also require you to pay the transfer duty, which is a government tax on property sales. No duty is payable on a property valued up to R1m and a sliding scale applies to houses above that threshold as per the table below –

Transfer Duty is payable at the following rates on transactions which are not subject to VAT:

Acquisition of property by all persons:

Source : National Treasury

• Moving costs: This step is easily overlooked, but your total moving costs can turn out to be much higher than expected when you include all the “hidden” expenses like redecorating, furnishing, new internet connections and so on.
• Keep a contingency fund: It always seems to happen – no matter how carefully you plan your expenses, something unforeseen pops up. Or things cost more than you budgeted for. Or there’s a “black swan” emergency. Check that you have some ready cash to deal with these speedbumps.

Step 2: House hunting!

You know your price range, so on now to the really exciting part of all this – finding your dream house.

Here’s a checklist to get you started –

• Location, location, location: What area/s will you concentrate on? Where do you want to live? What sort of lifestyle are you after? Do you plan to work from home? Do you need to find a pet-friendly area? What amenities do you want close by? Are there good schools in the vicinity? Research the area – what are average selling prices in the suburb and is your budget up to it? Do houses in the area have a history of good value growth? What are crime levels like?
• What sort of house are you looking for? How many rooms do you need? Will your needs change in the future? Do you need a home office? A granny flat? A big garden? A pool? The list of questions to ask yourself here is endless, just be sure to think of the long term as well as of your immediate wants and needs. And do bear in mind that sooner or later you will want to re-sell, so think now about whether the features you are looking for now will also appeal to other buyers down the line.
• Searching: With your price range and target area identified, the “thrill of the hunt” is at last upon you! Online searches are increasingly popular but choose whichever channel you are comfortable with. Your lawyer will have valuable knowledge of the local housing market and may refer you to a trusted estate agency or two.
• If buying into a community scheme: Check what Rules and Regulations you are letting yourself in for – you will be held to them. Make sure that the Homeowners Association or Body Corporate’s finances are sound (ask for audited financials and management accounts). Ask about any special levies or other planned expenditure on the horizon (get it in writing). Take professional advice in any doubt.
• Plans, defects and the rest: Although the new Property Practitioner’s Act requires the seller to make disclosure of any defects or deficiencies (in a written document annexed to the sale document – study it carefully!), it is still advisable to do your own homework. Ask for copies of approved building plans (check for any unlawful structures or deviations from plan), look for and ask about defects like leaking roofs, problem foundations etc – consider getting a full professional report unless you are very sure of your own abilities in this regard.

Step 3: Putting in your offer

• Now that you’ve found your dream house it’s time to put your offer in. Excitement mounts – will the seller accept, or perhaps counter-offer? You can’t wait to find out. You are presented with an Offer to Purchase (sometimes titled as a Deed of Sale), a pen and a cheerful “just sign here, we’ll do the rest”.
• Take no chances here! Have the paperwork professionally checked before you commit to anything. Ask also for Deeds Office and other searches for anything that may affect your decision-making – restrictive title deed conditions, servitudes (giving other people rights over your property), alterations carried out without municipal plans and approval, zoning conditions and so on.
• Make sure that any verbal undertakings or disclosures given to you are properly recorded in the agreement – what counts is what’s in writing!

Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your professional adviser for specific and detailed advice.

© LawDotNews

“She failed to disclose these obviously material activities to her employer and was therefore manifestly acting in violation of her duty of good faith to her employer.” (Extract from judgment below)

“Moonlighting” is the practice of employees boosting their monthly income with a “side-job” or “side-business”. It has been a feature of working relationships since the dawn of history, but now the pandemic lockdowns and the shift to the “gig economy” (where independent contractors and freelancers are paid for short-term assignments) have seen dramatic increases in the number of employees forced to supplement their incomes in this way. Some stats suggest that now almost half of all employees have a second source of income, and both they and their employers need to take note of a recent Labour Appeal Court decision confirming the dismissal of an employee for failing to disclose her side-business to her employer.

Selling biltong secretly

• A sales agent for a meat products company was found to be running her own “formal business” (with at least one full-time employee and from rented premises) selling biltong over weekends. She had not only kept that fact from her employer but had positively stated in a letter to it that she had no source of income other than her salary and maintenance from her divorce.
• Found guilty of dishonesty because she failed to advise her employer of her side-line business, she was dismissed.
• She referred an unfair dismissal dispute to the CCMA (Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration) and, long story short, she ended up before the Labour Appeal Court which confirmed her dismissal, finding that –
  
  • “[She] failed to disclose an essential and important fact that she was running ‘a side-line business’ in the market for the sale of meat products, albeit that they might not have been identical to the meat products which were sold by [her employer]”.   
  • “That she was able to discharge her duties to [her employer]” does not take her case any further.”   
  • The CCMA’s conclusion that “employees act in bad faith if conflict of interest may arise even though no real competition actually results” was, held the Court, unassailable.
  • “She was employed as a sales representative in a business that was involved in the sale of meat products. As a side-line business, she conducted a business which involved the sale of biltong, namely a meat product. She failed to disclose these obviously material activities to her employer and was therefore manifestly acting in violation of her duty of good faith to her employer.” (Emphasis supplied).

A note for employers…

Avoid any doubt in your workplace with a clear, balanced and fair policy on the question of employees holding second jobs or running “side-hustles” and include a clause to that effect in your employment contracts. Professional advice is vital given the stakes in any labour law dispute.

And a note for employees…

Many employers will be very understanding if you are totally honest with them about any moonlighting you get involved in, whether it’s through economic necessity or just a desire to pursue something you are passionate about.

Disclose everything in writing (keep proof!), whether or not you will be impinging on your working hours. You risk dismissal even if there is “no real competition” with your main job, and even if your work performance is not impacted – it’s the “bad faith” element of secreting your side business that will sink your case.

Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your professional adviser for specific and detailed advice.

© LawDotNews

Employers and employees need to keep an eye on the annual increases in both the National Minimum Wage and the Earnings Threshold, summarised below for your convenience. Both are effective from 1 March 2022.

The National Minimum Wage increase

The National Minimum Wage (NMW) for each ordinary hour worked has been increased by 6.9% from R21,69 to R23.19.

To quote from Minister of Employment and Labour Thulas Nxesi’s announcement –

“As in previous years, the adjustment provides exceptions for several worker groups, including:

• Farmworkers are entitled to a minimum wage of R23.19 per hour.
• Domestic workers are entitled to a minimum wage of R23.19 per hour.
• Workers employed on an expanded public works programme are entitled to a minimum wage of R12.75 per hour.
• Workers who have concluded learnership agreements contemplated in section 17 of the Skills Development Act, 1998 (Act No 97 of 1998), are entitled to allowances contained in schedule 2.

It is illegal and unfair labour practice for an employer to unilaterally change working hours or other employment conditions in order to implement the NMW. The NMW is the amount payable for ordinary hours of work and excludes payment of allowances (such as transportation, tools, food, or lodging), payments in kind (board or lodging), tips, bonuses, and gifts.”

Domestic workers

For the first time domestic workers have been brought into line with the NMW via a 21.5% increase from 2021’s R19.09 per hour. Assuming a work month of 21 days x 8 hours per day, R23.19 per hour equates to R3,895.92 per month. The Living Wage calculator will help you check whether or not you are actually paying your domestic worker enough to cover a household’s “minimal need”.

The Earnings Threshold Increase

The annual earnings threshold above which employees lose some of the protections of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act has been increased from R211,596.30 p.a. to R224,080.48 p.a.

“Earnings” (for this purpose only) means “the regular annual remuneration before deductions, i.e. income tax, pension, medical and similar payments but excluding similar payments (contributions) made by the employer in respect of the employee: Provided that subsistence and transport allowances received, achievement awards and payments for overtime worked shall not be regarded as remuneration”.

To quote again from the Minister’s announcement: “These sections protect vulnerable employees by regulating, among other things, working hours, overtime,… compressed schedules, working time, average hours of work, meals interval, daily and weekly rest periods, pay for work on Sundays, night work, and work on public holidays.”

The threshold also impacts on some of the protections provided in the Labour Relations Act –

• Employees earning less than the threshold, if contracted to a client for more than three months through a temporary employment service (“labour broker”) are deemed to be employed by the client unless they are actually performing a temporary service.
• Fixed-term employees earning below the threshold are deemed to be employed indefinitely after three months unless the employer has a justifiable reason for fixing the term of the contract.

Turning to the Employment Equity Act, employees earning over the threshold can only refer unfair discrimination disputes (other than disputes based on sexual harassment) to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) with the consent of all parties. Otherwise they must go to the Labour Court for arbitration.

Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your professional adviser for specific and detailed advice.

© LawDotNews

“When debtors once have borrowed all we have to lend, they are very apt to grow shy of their creditors’ company” (John Vanbrugh)

Bad debt is a major issue for many businesses in these hard economic times – not taking robust steps to collect it could be fatal to your own financial position.

So if you are being given the run-around by a recalcitrant corporate debtor, take advice on whether an appropriate and cost-effective remedy for you might be an application for the company’s liquidation (“winding-up”).

Cynical misuse of the liquidation process as a debt collection tool or to avoid any genuine disputes over liability is likely to end badly for you (you risk a heavy costs order for “abuse of process”). Be aware also that if your application is successful and a liquidation order is granted, you might be in for more than your own legal costs (ask for advice on the “danger of contribution” in winding-up matters).

But properly used, a liquidation application will certainly get your debtor’s attention very effectively. It’s often the only strategy that has any effect on a “dodging debtor”. The threat of a liquidator knocking at the door to take over control of the company is a great motivator to actually do something – pay up, or make a genuine settlement offer, or at least disclose whether something is in dispute so you can deal with it.

The practical challenge can however be in proving that the debtor is actually financially unable to pay its debts. That’s often not easy, and mere failure by the debtor to pay the debt is not sufficient. 

The “section 345 demand” shortcut

However there is a shortcut – serve on the company’s registered office a demand for the debt. You may hear it referred to as a “section 345 letter”, that being the section of the Companies Act which makes this all possible. If the debt is not paid (or secured or resolved by agreement) within three weeks, the company is deemed to be unable to pay its debts, making a liquidation application much easier to support.

The 2021 High Court case of a municipality struggling to recover debts due to it by two property companies provides a good example of this letter of demand process in action…

Letters of demand sink two property companies

• Two related companies, one a property-owner and the other a tenant, owed the local municipality for unpaid rates, service charges, and electricity accounts.
• The municipality served the appropriate letters of demand on the companies’ registered offices, but still they failed to pay up. Their attempts to settle with the municipality having failed, the municipality applied to the High Court for liquidation.
• The High Court duly granted provisional liquidation orders against both companies, finding on the facts that they had failed to rebut the presumption that they were unable to pay the debts. Nor were they able to convince the Court to exercise its discretion to refuse the liquidation orders.

As an end note, it is essential that your letter of demand is correctly drawn and correctly served.  If it isn’t, your application is headed for failure – and that can be a very expensive exercise.

Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your professional adviser for specific and detailed advice.

© LawDotNews

“But love is blind, and lovers cannot see” (Shakespeare)

Note: Please think of sharing this article with any family member, friend or colleague who might benefit from knowing which “red flags” to watch for when using dating apps and social media.

Even if you haven’t yet watched the hit Netflix film “The Tinder Swindler”, you will know of the huge problem worldwide of swindlers using dating apps and social media to part victims from substantial amounts of money.

Hearts are broken, lives ruined, savings lost, huge and unrepayable debts incurred. It’s easy to think “I would never fall for that” but the reality is that everyone is vulnerable – these “romantic fraud” swindlers are masters at using powerful social engineering techniques to identify suitable victims, draw them in, and fleece them of everything.

Norton Security provide a wealth of information to help you navigate these shark-infested waters safely in their article “Romance scams in 2022: What you need to know + online dating scam statistics” here.

If you read nothing else, have a look at the ones we’ve highlighted for you –

• “What is a romance scam?” (With a list of 7 common ones)
• “How romance scams work” (with Infographic)
• “Warning signs: Lies romance scammers tell” (6 red flags with Infographic “Is Your Cyber Sweetheart Swindling You?”)
• “10 tips to avoid romance scammers and protect yourself” (with a long list of Do’s and Don’ts)
• “How to report an online dating scam”
• “20+ online dating scam statistics” (Infographic “Heartbreaking Statistics”) [The problem’s huge – victims lost around $304 million in 2020 alone]
• “Romance scams on the rise”
• “The real price tags of online dating”
• “Online dating scams and older adults”
• “Who’s most susceptible to romance scams”
• “Stalker ware is trending up”
• “How a romance scam works” (Infographic)
• “Online Dating Advice” (Infographic)

If you aren’t sure that your online Prince (or Princess) Charming is 100% legitimate, ask someone you trust for objective advice before you find yourself in a hole you can’t escape from. And if you do find yourself one of the many victims, call in professional advice – the sooner you do, the quicker you can start extracting yourself from your nightmare situation.

Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your professional adviser for specific and detailed advice.

© LawDotNews

“… a property is an asset to enhance economic activity, growth and development…” (extract from preamble to the Property Practitioners Act)

The Property Practitioners Act (“PPA”) finally comes into effect on 1 February 2022. It has major ramifications for everyone involved in the property industry, but in this article we’ll concentrate only on aspects of particular importance to property sellers and buyers, and to landlords and tenants.

The PPA’s full definition of “property practitioner” is long and complex with some grey areas still to be clarified, but for our purposes let’s just note that estate agents and agencies, property auctioneers, property managers, bond originators and the like all fall into the definition.

We turn now to some of the more important changes which will impact on you from a practical perspective from 1 February –

New mandatory disclosures by sellers and landlords

It has always been best practice for sellers and landlords to make full written disclosures of any property defects or deficiencies known to them to prospective buyers and tenants, and to attach a list to the agreement of sale/lease. As regards residential leases, the Rental Housing Act already provides for both incoming and outgoing joint inspections.

Now for both sale and leasing the PPA provides that no PP can accept a mandate without a “mandatory disclosure form” which must be provided to any prospective buyer or tenant, signed by both parties and attached to the sale agreement/lease. The form published in the new Regulations refers to sellers only so it is unclear (at date of writing) what form landlords are supposed to use but the form requires sellers to answer a series of questions (and certify the answers as correct) relating to defects (structural and other), to disclose any boundary line disputes/encroachments/encumbrances, to certify that the necessary consents and permits were obtained for any additions/improvements etc, and to disclose any historical structure/heritage site issues. There is also a catch-all “Additional Information” section.

The form specifically states that it is not a substitute for any inspections or warranties so buyers/tenants should still insist on these in their agreements, but it does provide proof of any disclosure or non-disclosure of defects or deficiencies (there is a presumption against disclosure if no form is supplied). 

Sellers and landlords will want to tread with care here and, importantly, they are not the only ones at risk of being sued here – a buyer/tenant can hold the PP liable for not complying with these requirements. 

When commission isn’t payable (and can be clawed back if already paid)

Commission is normally payable to a PP by the seller in a sale, or by the landlord in a letting arrangement. The PPA provides for two situations in which a PP cannot earn commission or any other payment, and in which you can claim repayment (on pain of prosecution for failure to repay) if you have already made payment –

• Estate agents have always had to hold a Fidelity Fund Certificate (FFC) in order to trade, and the PPA clarifies that in order to act as a PP, it is not enough for just the agency itself to hold an FFC – FFCs must also be held by all employed PPs and (if the agency is not a sole proprietorship) also all directors (if a company), members (if a close corporation), trustees (if a trust) and partners (if a partnership). Another safeguard is that the conveyancer handling the transfer is now obliged to obtain a certified copy of the PP’s FFC before making any commission or other payment. 
• Another situation in which a PP cannot claim commission is if there is any breach of the requirement not to “enter into any arrangement, formally or informally, whereby a consumer is obliged or encouraged to use a particular service provider including an attorney to render any service or ancillary services in respect of any transaction of which that property practitioner was the effective cause.” This is presumably an attempt to curb the paying of referral fees to PPs for recommending or requiring use of a particular service provider, such as perhaps a particular transferring attorney, bond originator, compliance certification service etc, but at the end of the day as a seller or landlord your best interests are served if you insist on using your own professional advisors – the choice is yours and yours alone.

Other things to know about 

• The Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (“PPRA”) which replaces the Estate Agency Affairs Board, will enforce a Code of Conduct applicable to all PPs, and will provide mediation and adjudication services in the event of any disputes arising.
• As regards costs of documentation – sale agreements, leases and mandatory disclosure forms “must be drafted by the developer or seller, as the case may be, for his, her or its own account” (there is no specific mention of landlords).

As always with property transactions, there is just no substitute for specific professional advice and assistance here!

Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your professional adviser for specific and detailed advice.

© LawDotNews

“Census data of 2016 reveals that approximately 3.2 million South Africans cohabit outside of marriage and that this number is increasing steadily.” (Extract from judgment below)

What happens if your life partner dies without leaving you anything in their will (“Last Will and Testament”)? Do you have the same protections as married spouses do?

A lot of the media coverage around the recent Constitutional Court decision dealing with this question may have given the impression that life partners are now as fully protected as if they were in a formal marriage, but that is not so – not yet anyway.

First, some background.

Protections for surviving spouses only, not for unmarried life partners

As a starting point, note that the widely-believed and persistent myth of a “common law marriage” is just that – a myth.

And the hard truth is that if a life partner dies intestate (without making a will), the other cannot inherit on the same basis as can a married spouse. Nor can the surviving life partner claim maintenance from the deceased estate on the same basis as a surviving spouse can.

Spouses enjoy these protections in terms of two Acts –

1. The “Maintenance of Surviving Spouses Act” provides for a spouse to claim maintenance from the deceased estate.
2. The “Intestate Succession Act” deals with cases where a deceased spouse left no valid will and provides for a spouse to receive only a “child’s share” of the estate (in other words, to share equally with any children) – far from ideal of course if the intention was to leave them more, but a lot better than nothing.

Until now those Acts have left any unmarried life partner high and dry. Incidentally, note here that we are talking about opposite-sex life partners in that same-sex partners have for years enjoyed intestate succession rights – an anomaly of which much was made in this court case.

The Court’s decision, and why life partners must still protect their positions

An unmarried man, although intending to marry his (female) partner, died before doing so. He left substantial assets but his will was outdated, leaving everything to his (since deceased) mother. The executor of his deceased estate rejected, primarily on the basis of existing law, her claims to inherit from the estate or to be granted maintenance from it.

Confirming High Court declarations of constitutional invalidity, the Constitutional Court held the relevant sections of the Acts to be invalid as they stand, and ordered that they be read so as to include life partners in their protections.

However there are critical limitations to bear in mind –

1) The orders of invalidity aren’t in force yet. 

The Court suspended the orders for 18 months (to June 2023) to give Parliament time to remedy the defects. Perhaps Parliament will move quickly on this and do the necessary before mid-2023, but perhaps it won’t. And in the meantime, your lack of protection remains.

2) You will still have to prove your entitlement. 

You will have to convince the executor and Master of the High Court (possibly in the face of opposition from the deceased’s other family members) that –

• You were in “a permanent life partnership” (our courts apply a number of tests in assessing this),
• As partners you “undertook reciprocal duties of support” (in this case the partners were held to have been “involved in a relationship that comprised most, if not all, characteristics of a marriage”),
• For your maintenance claim, that your claim is for your “reasonable maintenance needs”, and
• For your intestate succession claim, that you have “not received an equitable share in the deceased partner’s estate”.

Even if you think you will have no problem in proving all those things, it is of course much easier and safer to avoid any possible grey areas or dispute by properly recording your status and your agreed undertakings to each other.

3) “Intestate” Succession is always second prize. 

As we said above, a “child’s share” of an estate is a lot better than nothing, but if you want your partner to inherit everything, dying without a will risks prejudicing them badly. Leaving a valid will is the only way to nominate the executor of your choice, and to choose for yourself what happens to your estate on death. It could well be the most important document you ever sign.

Life partners: Sign wills and a cohabitation agreement – now!

That’s a lot of uncertainty and potential for conflict and delay, and there could well be a lot at stake (in this case, some R10m worth of assets in total) but the good news is that it is all very easily avoided –

1. Have professional wills drawn up (or have your existing wills checked for necessary changes or updates) and
2. Enter into a full cohabitation agreement recording exactly what your status is and what undertakings you make to each other. Remember there is no such thing as a “common law” marriage in South Africa – if you aren’t formally married, a cohabitation agreement is the only safe alternative.

A final thought – no one likes to contemplate their own deaths, but Death by its very nature often knocks without warning, and we live in particularly dangerous times.

So don’t delay – get moving on this now!

Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be used or relied on as professional advice. No liability can be accepted for any errors or omissions nor for any loss or damage arising from reliance upon any information herein. Always contact your professional adviser for specific and detailed advice.

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