The CIPC (Companies and Intellectual Property Commission) has announced that its new “compliance checklist” requirement, voluntary until now, becomes mandatory for all companies and close corporations from 1 January 2020.
The National Minimum Wage Act 9 of 2018 (“NMWA”) applies to employees, and not to independent contractors. Therefore, the question begs if an estate agent is an employee or an independent contractor and if the “NMWA” applies?
John is eager to secure accommodation at university for his daughter and concludes a lease agreement for a flat near campus. Before commencement of the academic year, she has a change of heart and decides to pursue studies at a different institution. What are John’s rights?…
20 December 2019: The Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) has successfully processed and issued Fidelity Fund Certificates (FFC’s) to all legally compliant estate agents….
With the EAAB (Estate Agency Affairs Board) clamping down on agents trading in the real estate industry who have not renewed or ever applied for their Fidelity Fund Certificates (FFC), as well as disqualifying agents for noncompliance with their Continuing Professional Development, it is now more important than ever to insist on continuous training as an essential part of operating within this industry.
FNB has gone live with the electronic signing of the Home Loan documents on 1 November 2019. The electronic signature platform applies to both FNB Home Finance as well as FNB Private Bank Lending.
With effect from 1 March 2019, interest earned on moneys invested by your attorney in a designated trust account, must be dealt with in accordance with section 86(4) of the Legal Practice Act…
In commercial transactions it is common for one contracting party to require from the other to provide personal suretyship as security for the performance of the obligations under the agreement…
The warning bells sounded months ago that the process to apply for lost title deeds will become more complicated. This is finally coming into effect. As of 1 January 2020 it could now take up to five weeks to obtain copies of lost title deeds.
The controversial National Credit Amendment Bill was signed into law last week. It provides for special debt relief measures for over-indebted consumers who earn R7 500 per month or less and whose unsecured debt does not exceed R50 000…
Earlier this month, in a notice published in the Government Gazette, it was confirmed that the monetary jurisdiction of Small Claims Courts will be increased to R20 000 from 1 April 2019 onwards…
Transferring title in immovable property into the name of non-residents generally follows the same processes as are required in respect of South African property purchasers…
It is a well-established principle of our law that you may not take the law into your own hands…
Private gated estates are entitled to draw up their own rules, including setting speed limits on internal roads and imposing “fines” for exceeding them, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled
In January 2019 new amendments to Regulations for the replacement of lost title deeds (and similar documents like mortgage bonds and notarial bonds – see below) were published. They were very onerous and slated to come into effect at short notice, but after criticism they were suspended – until now.
Revised amendments have been published, to come into effect on 1 January 2020.
The Property Practitioners Act of 2019 signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The Act, signed on Wednesday, October 4, repeals the 43-year-old Estate Agency Affairs Act of 19, and is aimed at improving the functioning of the property market, which includes regulating the buying, selling and renting of land and buildings.
Trustee/s signing the offer to purchase/sale agreement must have the necessary authority to do so. Drop the ball on that one and you will find yourself without any sale at all.
Owners of properties with solar power systems, and which properties are situated in the jurisdiction of the City of Cape Town Municipality, must register their installation with the City by 31 May 2019…
If a body corporate member suffers a financial loss due to, for example, an averaged or refuted claim as a result of under-insurance of the buildings in the scheme, the owner is likely to seek alternative ways to recover the shortfall…
Let us face it, the last thing most men and women need to do when selling their property is hand over a bit of the profit to their real estate agent…
The increased focus on trusts by the SA Revenue Service, as well as revenue authorities abroad, raises the question of whether trusts should still be used in estate planning or not.
The past few years have seen a number of important new laws and amendments introduced, which are having a drastic effect on selling and leasing of property, says Seeff Property Group. The new Property Practitioner’s Act – which was recently signed into law, replacing the 43-year old Estate Agency Affairs Act – brings important reform to the property industry as a whole and introduces a number of much-needed changes.
Strydom executes an unlimited suretyship in favour of Engen for the debts incurred by Soutpansberg Petroleum, a company of which he was a director. He was married in community of property at the time, but his wife is not involved in the transaction as it relates to her husband’s ordinary work and business.
In lease agreements relating to residential property, the landlord is obliged by the Rental Housing Act to place the amount received as a lease deposit in an interest-bearing account held with a financial institution…
Where a divorce settlement agreement provides that a spouse will acquire sole ownership in the whole or a portion of property registered in the name of his or her divorced spouse, the transaction is exempt from transfer duty..
When it comes to heading out into the property market in 2020, the predictions may prove to be as trustworthy as the weather forecast, but while there are indeed rays of sunshine falling on certain areas, the storm clouds gathered on the horizon cannot be avoided.