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Property

WHEN LIFE HAPPENS – WHO WILL LOOK AFTER YOUR AFFAIRS?

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a2_aCuratorship is the power given by authority of law, to one or more persons, to administer the property of an individual who is unable to take care of his/her own estate and affairs. Curatorship is intended to protect the person and the person’s property.

In terms of Rule 57 of the High Court Rules any person may apply to the High Court for an order declaring another person (“the patient”) to be of unsound mind and as such incapable of managing his/her affairs.

This type of High Court application is usually made by a family member of the patient. The Notice of Motion must state the grounds upon which the applicant claims locus standi, in other words, what his/her interest in the matter is and why the court should entertain the application. The court is normally requested to do three things:

  1. To declare the patient of unsound mind and incapable of managing his/her affairs;
  2. To appoint a curator ad litem; and
  3. To appoint a curator bonis and/or curator personae.

Furthermore the applicant must state inter alia the following in the application:

  1. The grounds upon which locus standi is claimed by the applicant;
  2. Why the court has jurisdiction to hear the matter;
  3. Information regarding the patient’s age, sex, full particulars of his/her means and general state of the patient’s physical health;
  4. The nature and duration of the relationship and association between the applicant and the patient;
  5. Facts and circumstances serving to show that the patient is of unsound mind and incapable of managing his/her affairs;
  6. The names, occupations and addresses of the persons suggested as curator ad litem and curator bonis or personae.

After hearing the application the court may appoint a curator ad litem. The curator ad litem is someone who conducts a court case or court proceedings on behalf of another. The most important function of the curator ad litem is to manage the patient’s interests in court and acts on the patient’s behalf as the patient is unable to do so because of mental illness. Upon the appointment the curator ad litem must without delay interview the patient and he/she should explain the nature of the application and the appointment to the patient. The curator then draws up a report. Such report is then submitted to the registrar of the court and the Master of the High Court.

After receipt of the report by the Master, the applicant may place the matter on the court roll and request the court for an order that the patient be declared incapable of managing his/her affairs and that the suggested person be appointed as curators bonis and personae. The curator bonis must manage the estate of the patient in accordance with the court order, subject to certain directions of the Master.

Compiled by: Annerine du Plessis

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other 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 legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)

Housing and property law

PAY YOUR LEVIES, OR ELSE…

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A3_BDear Mr Lawyer

I am the owner of a sectional title, and I have paid my levies every month as required, until the water started seeping through the ceiling of my enclosed balcony into my section when it rains. The leak was clearly emanating from a defect in the common property. I asked the body corporate on numerous occasions to repair the defect, yet after four months of writing letters and sending emails the body corporate still has not done anything to honour this simple request. As a frustrated owner I resorted to desperate measures and employed a contractor to repair the property defect. I settled the bill myself.

May I withhold my levies for a period to set off the money that is owed to me by the body corporate?

Dear Mr Owner

Although this action may sound reasonable, the right to stop paying or to set off a debt against levies is not legally justified and owners are not, under any circumstances, entitled to simply withhold levies.

There is no provision in the Sectional Titles Act 95 of 1986 or the rules that gives an owner the right to withhold levy payments. Even if an owner incurs expense in performing an emergency repair to the common property, and believes that the body corporate owes him money, the owner may only set off the debt against the levies once it becomes liquid.

An amount can only be liquid once it has been agreed upon. An owner cannot set off the amount he believes he is entitled to deduct. The trustees, judge or arbitrator must have confirmed the amount.

If Mr Owner does withhold his levies without the amount being liquid, he is subject to the following sanctions in terms of the prescribed rules:

l Firstly, the trustees are entitled to charge interest on arrear amounts at a rate determined by them, and so the defaulting owner may receive a larger account, due to the interest on his arrears, than if he had paid his levies.

l What is more, The Sectional Titles Act imposes a positive obligation on trustees to recover levies from defaulting owners. Not only does the Act empower them to charge interest, the scheme attorneys will most likely issue summons against the defaulter for all costs that the Body Corporate may incur in recovering any arrears.

l Secondly, the prescribed management rules provide that, except in the case of special and unanimous resolutions, an owner is not entitled to vote if any contributions payable by him in respect of his section have not been duly paid. Therefore, an owner who withholds his levies is unable to vote for ordinary resolutions in respect of the section that he is withholding levies on.

Mr Lawyer, how does an owner deal with a situation where he believes the body corporate is liable for payment?

A dispute must be declared with the Body Corporate by written notice of the dispute or query to the trustees. The trustees or Body Corporate then have 14 days from receipt to resolve the dispute. During this period, the parties should meet to try and resolve the dispute. If there is no resolution after the 14-day period, either party may demand that the dispute be referred to arbitration. The arbitrator must make his/her recommendations in settlement of the dispute within 7 days from the date of commencement of the dispute. The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding and may be made an order of the High Court.

It is clear that prescribed processes are in place according to which disputes and related issues can be settled. Not only will this ensure that you act within the legal guidelines, but it will also eliminate unnecessary frustration.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other 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 legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE).

Property

IMPLICATIONS OF ESTATE DUTY

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A4_BEstate duty is charged on the dutiable value of the estate in terms of the Estate Duty Act. The general rule is that if the taxpayer is ordinarily resident in South Africa at the time of death, all of his/her assets (including deemed property), wherever they are situated, will be included in the gross value of his/her estate for the determination of duty payable thereon.

The current estate duty rate is 20% of the dutiable value of the estate. Foreigners/non-residents also pay estate duty on their South African property.

To minimise the effects of estate duty you need to understand the calculation thereof. The following provisions apply in determining your liability:

  1. Which property is to be included.
  2. Which property constitutes “deemed property”.
  3. Allowable deductions: the possible deductions that are allowed when calculating estate duty.

Property includes all property, or any right to property, including immovable or movable, corporeal or incorporeal – registered in the deceased’s name at the time of his/her death. It also includes certain types of annuities, and options to purchase land or shares, goodwill, and intellectual property.

Deemed property

  1. Insurance policies
  1. Includes proceeds of domestic insurance policies (payable in South Africa in South African currency [ZAR]), taken out on the life of the deceased, irrespective of who the owner (beneficiary) is.
  2. The proceeds of such a policy are subject to estate duty, however this can be reduced by the amount of the premiums, plus interest at 6% per annum, to the extent that the premiums were paid by a third person (the beneficiary) entitled to the proceeds of the policy. Premiums paid by the deceased himself/herself are not deductible from the proceeds for estate duty purposes.
  3. If the proceeds of a policy are payable to the surviving spouse or a child of the deceased in terms of a properly registered antenuptial contract (i.e. registered with the Deeds Office) the policy will be totally exempt from estate duty.
  4. Where a policy is taken out on each other’s lives by business partners, and certain criteria are met, the proceeds are exempt from estate duty.
  1. Donations at date of death

Donations where the donee will not benefit until the death of the donor and where the donation only materialises if the donor dies, are not subject to donations tax. These have to be included as an asset in the deceased estate and are subject to estate duty.

  1. Claims in terms of the Matrimonial Property Act (accrual claim)

An accrual claim that the estate of a deceased has against the surviving spouse is property deemed to be property in the deceased estate.

  1. Property that the deceased was competent to dispose of immediately prior to his/her death (Section 3(3)(d) of the Estate Duty Act), like donating an asset to a trust, may be included as deemed property.

Deductions

Some of the most important allowable deductions are:

  1. The cost of funeral, tombstone and deathbed expenses.
  2. Debts due at date of death to persons who have their ordinary residence in South Africa.
  3. The extent to which these debts are to be settled from property included in the estate. This includes the deceased’s income tax liability (which includes capital gains tax) for the period up to the date of death.
  4. Foreign assets and rights:
  5. The general rule is that foreign assets and rights of a South African resident, wherever situated, are included in his/her estate as assets.
  6. However, the value thereof can be deducted for estate duty purposes where such foreign property was acquired before the deceased became ordinarily resident in South Africa for the first time, or was acquired by way of donation or inheritance from a non-resident, after the donee became ordinarily resident in South Africa for the first time (provided that the donor or testator was not ordinarily resident in South Africa at the time of the donation or death). The amount of any profits or proceeds of any such property is also deductible.
  1. Debts and liabilities due to non-residents:
  2. Debts and liabilities due to non-residents are deductible but only to the extent that such debts exceed the value of the deceased’s assets situated outside South Africa which have not been included in the dutiable estate.
  1. Bequests to certain public benefit organisations:
  1. Where property is bequeathed to a public benefit organisation or public welfare organisation which is exempt from income tax, or to the State or any local authority within South Africa, the value of such property will be able to be deducted for estate duty purposes.
  1. Property accruing to a surviving spouse [Section 4(q)]:
  1. This includes that much of the value of any property included in the estate that has not already been allowed as a deduction and accrues to a surviving spouse.
  2. Note that proceeds of a policy payable to the surviving spouse are required to be included in the estate for estate duty purposes (as deemed property), but that this is deductible in terms of Section 4(q).
  3. Section 4(q) deductions will not be granted where the property inherited is subject to a bequest price.
  4. Section 4(q) deductions will not be granted where the bequest is to a trust established by the deceased for the benefit of the surviving spouse, if the trustee(s) has/have discretion to allocate such property or any income out of it to any person other than the surviving spouse (a discretionary trust). Where the trustee(s) has/have no discretion as regards both the income and capital of the trust, the Section 4(q) deduction may be granted (a vested trust).

Portable R3.5 million deduction between spouses

The Act allows for the R3.5 million deduction from estate duty to roll over from the deceased to a surviving spouse so that the surviving spouse can use a R7 million deduction amount on his/her death.

Life assurance for estate duty

Estate duty will also normally be leviable on these assurance proceeds.

Source: Moore Stephens’ Estate Planning Guide.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other 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 legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)

Tax

USUFRUCT AND CAPITAL GAINS TAX

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A2BWhat is a usufruct?

“A usufruct provides to the usufructuary a right of use of property or assets, lifelong or for a specific period, but the usufructuary does not acquire ownership of the relevant property or assets.”

Usufruct is often applied as part of estate planning in order to save on Estate duty, as the calculated value of the usufruct qualifies as deduction for Estate duty, should the usufructuary be the surviving spouse. E.g. a woman may bequeath her property to her son provided that her spouse has lifelong usufruct from it.

Obviously this kind of bequest may create problems, as the son is not able to utilise the property for personal use or rent it out as long as his father is still alive. If we talk about agricultural property the problems escalate and the practical administration of the usufruct can result in many a headache.

These issues are, however, of a personal nature and our opinion is that the root of the problem is actually the accountability of Capital Gains Tax which will revert to the owner when the property is eventually sold.

The value of the usufruct when it is created is recovered from the market value of the property in order to determine the bare property value. This calculated value will then represent the base cost of the property when it is eventually sold.

Example:

I, TOUGH TINA, bequeath my immovable property to my son, LITTLE JOHN, subject to the lifelong usufruct of my spouse, BIG JOHN. BIG JOHN is thus the usufructuary and LITTLE JOHN the bare owner.

Suppose the value of the property for the purpose of this example is R1 million. The usufruct value is calculated by capitalising R1 million allowing for BIG JOHN’s life expectancy (according to tables) and multiplying it by 12% (or a % as approved by SARS), in other words R1 million x [ table determined factor amount ] x 12%.  Assume this translates to R800,000.

The bare property value at the death of TOUGH TINA is thus R1 million minus R800,000 = R200,000. Should LITTLE JOHN sell the property at R1.5 million before BIG JOHN’s death, taxable Capital Gains will potentially amount to R1.3 million on which tax is payable.

We are not in principle against usufruct, but it is clear that costs and the influence of Capital Gains Tax on usufruct should be studied thoroughly before considering such a stipulation in your will.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other 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 legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE).

Marriage

VALIDITY OF ANTENUPTIAL CONTRACTS

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A2BOne must be careful when drafting and signing an Antenuptial Contract. Aside from ensuring that the contents is all correct, one must also ensure that all the necessary provisions are contained therein to make the contract valid. The consequences of neglecting to do so may result in a marriage in community of property even though the parties had no intention of this at the time of their marriage.

Attorneys are often trusted with the task of drafting an Antenuptial Contract. This is a contract, which one signs to regulate the property regime of a marriage. If a couple does not sign, an Antenuptial Contract then the marital property regime will be that of in community of property. The presence of an Antenuptial Contract means that the marital property regime is that of out of community of property and the parties must specifically stipulate whether they would like the accrual system to apply to their marriage or not.

The importance of ensuring that all the necessary provisions are contained in the Antenuptial Contract to result in a valid contract was discussed in the 2014 Supreme Court of Appeal Case of B v B[1]. In this case, no values were stated in respect of any of the assets listed in the Antenuptial Contract and they were also not properly identified. In B v B the court stated that if the terms of a contract are so vague and incoherent as to be incapable of a sensible construction then the contract must be regarded as void for vagueness.[2]

According to Section 6(1) of the Matrimonial Property Act[3] ,a party to an intended marriage which does not, for the purpose of proof of the value of his or her estate at the time of the commencement of the marriage, declare the value in the contract, then he or she may do so within six months of the marriage in a statement attested to by a notary. If this is not done, according to Section 6(4) of the Marital Property Act, the net value of the estate of a spouse is then deemed to be nil at the time of the marriage. In effect, such a contract is valid but it will effectively render the marriage in community of property since nothing was excluded from the accrual.

However, if a contract is contradictory and incoherent in other respects then it cannot be seen as a valid contract since there is no certainty as to the meaning of the contract and what the parties seek to achieve. This means that the contract would not embody terms that would enable to court to give effect to the intention of the parties at the time the contract was concluded.

The result of such a contract is that the Antenuptial Contract would be void for vagueness and that the marital property regime would be the default position according to the Marital Property Act, which is in community of property.

Therefore, parties are encouraged to read their contracts thoroughly and ensure that they understand the terms thereof and that the contract embodies their intentions without any further explanations or evidence.

[1] (952/12) [2014] ZASCA 14 (24 March 2014).

[2] B v B (952/12) [2014] ZASCA 14 (24 March 2014) par 7.

[3] 88 of 1984.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other 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 legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)

Property

WHEN IS A TENANT AN ILLEGAL OCCUPANT?

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A4BWhere the Contract of Lease is breached in any way by the tenant and he or she after receiving notice thereof has not remedied such a breach within the period agreed upon, then the landlord may cancel the contract. The tenant will be found to be an illegal occupier in this instance.

Where a tenant fails to perform as agreed upon in his Lease agreement, he will be found to be in breach of that agreement. An example of this is a failure to pay rent timeously or at all. The landlord must notify the tenant in writing of his decision to terminate the contract by means of a letter of cancellation, allowing the tenant a reasonable period, or such timeframe as agreed upon in terms of such a lease, to vacate the property.

If the tenant chooses to ignore the notice of cancellation of the lease agreement by remaining on the property and continuing to use and enjoy it, the tenant will be regarded as an illegal occupier of the property. The same applies if the tenant continues to occupy the property after the expiration of the initial lease period. An illegal occupier may be evicted from the rented property by the landlord or owner. This will be done at a Magistrate’s or High Court and for that the services of a lawyer will be required.

There is no longer a Common Law right to evict someone. Instead the owner or landlord must follow the procedures and provisions of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction and Unlawful Occupation of land Act 19 of 1998 (hereinafter referred to as the “PIE Act”). The tenant must be notified of the pending action, by means of a Notice of Intention to Evict and this must be done at least 14 days before the date of the court hearing. This notice must also be sent to the respective Municipality involved.

On the date of the hearing, the court will consider factors such as whether the person is an unlawful occupier, whether the owner has reasonable grounds for eviction and alternative accommodation available to the tenant. It is now considered a criminal offence to evict someone without a court order to that effect. Constructive eviction, for instance, where a landlord cuts the water or electricity supply to the property in order to “drive” the tenants out, is a criminal offence.

The type of action or application that your legal representative will bring will vary depending on the facts and circumstances of the matter. Such actions or applications can be heard in the Magistrate’s or High Court, depending on the value of the occupation and not the leased property value. The lease agreement may also have a clause embodied in it where the parties agree to a particular court’s jurisdiction, where upon that will be followed. If the court proceedings are successful a Warrant of Ejectment may be issued, whereupon the owner or landlord may proceed with the eviction of the illegal occupier.

Once the owner or the proprietor of the leased property has followed all the prescribed procedures as laid out in the PIE Act and they have established that their tenant is considered an unlawful occupier then they may proceed with the above-mentioned steps in order to evict them from their property.

An unlawful occupier may be removed from the premises upon the instruction of an Eviction Order / Warrant of Eviction with the assistance of the Sheriff of the respective court at a minimal fee. The steps laid out in the PIE Act are simple to understand and follow allowing a transparent and fair chance to both the landlord and the tenant in these difficult situations.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other 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 legal adviser for specific and detailed advice. Errors and omissions excepted (E&OE)

Housing and property law

HOW TO EVICT A DEFAULTING TENANT

You are an owner of a residential property and have entered into a lease agreement with a tenant. Unfortunately your tenant is unreliable and falls into arrears with the monthly rental. What is your position now and what legal steps can be taken to claim back your property?

The Prevention of Illegal Eviction and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act, Act 19 of 1998 (more commonly known as PIE) allows for the eviction of unlawful occupiers of land in the Republic of South Africa. PIE applies to an “unlawful occupier” who is any person who occupies land without the express or tacit consent of the owner of such land. The High and Magistrate’s Court has jurisdiction to grant an eviction order under the provisions of PIE. However, for purposes of this article the Magistrate’s Court process for an eviction will be discussed.

The main eviction application is issued by the Clerk of the Court and a case number is then allocated. This case number is then copied onto an Ex Parte application as well as a Notice in terms of Section 4(2) of PIE. The Ex Parte application is not an interim order, but is rather an interlocutory application where the Court is requested to authorise the Notice in terms of Section 4(2) and also give a service directive for this notice. The Court will then consider the facts of the specific case and give a directive as to what the Court deem as sufficient service of the papers on the land occupier.

Once the Ex Parte order has been obtained the main application as well as the Section 4(2) Notice will be served on the Respondent in terms of the service directive provided by the Court. This service directive will include a directive to serve on the local Municipality as well. It is a requirement of PIE that this notice is served 14 calendar days prior to the hearing of the eviction application. Therefore after successful service and lapsing of the required time period the final eviction application will be heard and granted accordingly.  Should the occupant however fail to vacate the premises as directed by the Court Order, the Sheriff of the Court will be authorised by the Court to attend to the eviction of the occupant on or shortly after a specific date.

Compiled by Annerine du Plessis

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other 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 legal adviser for specific and detailed advice.

Property

TROUBLE WITH THE NEIGHBOURS

The question on everyone’s mind is, what can I do about my neighbour’s trees and plants that are causing damage to my property and discomfort to me? He most certainly has the right to do on his property as he pleases, but what about my right to use and enjoy my property? Surely his enjoyment cannot be at the cost of someone else?

Trees with lateral root systems are often a culprit in neighbourly disputes. In the case Bingham v City Council of Johannesburg 1934 WLD 180, the municipality planted trees along the footpath for beautification purposes. The problem was that they chose to plant oak trees, which have strong lateral root systems that drain the soil surrounding them. The flowers and shrubs in Bingham’s garden died as a result of this, and even worse, the strong root system was making its way to the foundation of his home. Due to the threat to the property (the house) the court ordered the municipality to remove the trees.

In Vogel v Crewe and another [2004] 1 All SA 587 (T) the issue regarding roots was also discussed in court. Vogel and Crewe were neighbours and Crewe was of the opinion that a tree planted about two metres from the wall, separating the two properties, was the cause of all the problems on his property. According to him the tree’s root system was causing damage to the boundary wall and leaves from the tree were falling into his swimming pool and blocking his gutters and sewage system. The court’s approach was based on an objective test of reasonableness. They took into account the benefits of protecting the tree, being its visual pleasure, shade, and the oxygen it produced, as opposed to the trouble it was causing Crewe. Crewe was not able to prove that the problem with the leaves in his swimming pool, gutters and sewage system was caused by the tree in question, and the court found that the wall separating the two properties could easily be repaired. No drastic action, like removing the tree, was necessary and Crewe failed in his application.

From the above it is clear that the court will only order the removal of a tree should the roots pose a real and immediate threat of damaging the property. They will not order the removal of overhanging branches for the shedding of leaves.

In Malherbe v Ceres Municipality 1951 (4) SA 510 A it was confirmed that should a neighbour’s tree branches overhang or the roots spread into your property and the owner refuses to remove same, you may chop them off on the boundary line.

Hopefully you will be able to resolve tree-related issues with your neighbour in a courteous way, and remember, you also have the right to enjoy your property.

References:
Bingham v City Council of Johannesburg 1934 WLD 180
Vogel v Crewe and another [2004] 1 All SA 587 (T)
Malherbe v Ceres Municipality 1951 (4) SA 510 A

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other 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 legal adviser for specific and detailed advice.
Title deed

DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS WRITTEN IN YOUR TITLE DEED?

A1_BBefore buying a property or submitting your building plans to the Town Council you should inspect the Title Deed, because failure to do so could become a costly exercise. The Title Deed will indicate all the registered servitudes and restrictive conditions applicable to the specific property.

A.     SERVITUDES

A few of these urban servitudes are discussed below:

  1. The right of the owner of the dominant stand to prohibit the erection of buildings on the servient property either at all, or beyond a certain height, or the right to an open view or the right to access of light, which restricts the servient property from impeding the view/light by buildings or trees.
  2. The servitude of support is the right to require one’s neighbour to support the weight of one’s house or wall or the right to drive a beam into one’s neighbour’s building. This could also be a reciprocal servitude and prevents either owner from demolishing his or her building and thus withdrawing the support which the other building receives from it. The owner of the servient stand is bound to keep the wall concerned in a good order at his own expense.
  3. The right to build on the servient property, for instance, to have a veranda encroach upon it or to have a balcony into its airspace.
  4. The right to receipt or non-receipt of dripping rainwater or water coming from a stream, or the right to have a rainwater drain discharging water onto the neighbour’s stand.
  5. Right of way is the right to walk across another person’s property or to drive a vehicle across it. 

The rights and duties of the owners of the dominant and servient properties

The rights and duties depend on the agreement constituting the servitude, which will be strictly interpreted in a manner which is least burdensome for the servient property. The owner of the dominant property must exercise his rights with due regards to the rights of the other party, which means that the servitude must be exercised in a proper and careful manner so as to cause the least inconvenience to the servient owner. This does not, however, restrict the owner of dominant property in the exercise of his or her rights merely because in doing so he or she will prejudice the owner of the servient property. Since a praedial servitude runs with the land any person who occupies the dominant property may exercise it. However, the owner of the dominant property is not permitted to assign his or her servitude for the benefit of another property than the dominant property.

The general rule is that a servitude cannot impose an active or positive duty on the owner of the servient property. There are only two exceptions to this rule, namely the servitude to compel the owner to construct a building of a certain height, and the servitude which imposes a duty to keep the wall in a good state of repair. 

Termination of these servitudes

  1. By agreement: A servitude may be terminated by agreement between the parties, which needs to be registered in the Deeds Office to bind subsequent purchasers.
  2. Abandonment: For example the failure to object to the erection of a fence or the closure of a road.
  3. Prescription: A positive servitude is lost if the holder fails to exercise his or her rights for an uninterrupted period of 30 years; however, this is not the case with a negative servitude.
  4. Destruction of either of the properties. 

B.     RESTRICTIVE CONDITIONS

These are statutory restrictions imposed on the owner of land in pursuance of specific township establishment legislation and registered against the Title Deeds of the stands for the reciprocal benefit of owners, and for the purpose of restraining the specific character of the neighbourhood.

A few Township conditions are mentioned here:

  1. The erf is subject to a servitude for sewerage or other purposes along one or two boundaries.
  2. No large-rooted trees may be planted within the servitude area.
  3. No buildings or other structures may be erected within the servitude area.
  4. The local authority shall be entitled to deposit temporarily on the land adjoining the servitude such material as may be excavated during the construction, maintenance or removal of sewerage works.
  5. Proposals to overcome detrimental soil conditions shall be contained in the building plans submitted for approval.
  6. The design of all structures and buildings to be erected shall be approved by a structural engineer.
  7. Except with the written approval of the authority the roofs of the buildings shall be of tiles, slate or thatch.
  8. No shop, factory or industry may be erected on the erf. 

From this it is clear that restrictive conditions can play a definite role in determining the character of a township, as well as have certain economic implications.

Other restrictive conditions that may be contained in Title Deeds

  1. Restriction to subdivision of land
  2. Conditions relating to the use to which the stand may be put
  3. Conditions restricting the alienation of the land 

Restrictive conditions may be removed or modified in one of the following ways:

  1. By agreement.
  2. By application to court.
  3. The Administrator has the power to alter, remove or suspend certain restrictions or obligations binding an owner of land in his/her province.
  4. The Minister of Public Works may consent to the amendment or cancellation of conditions registered in Title Deeds.
  5. Provincial legislation contains procedures to remove restrictions on the subdivision of land or the purposes for which the land may be used.

There are a few others that will not be discussed here.

In light of the above it’s imperative that one should carefully study the Title Deed before buying a property or building.

This article is a general information sheet and should not be used or relied on as legal or other 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 legal adviser for specific and detailed advice.