A Complex Issue: Beware Late Building Penalties

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February 2025 NEWSLETTER

A Complex Issue: Beware Late Building Penalties

You buy a vacant plot in a security estate and happily start drawing up plans for your dream home. Disaster strikes when out of the blue you are hit by the HOA (Homeowners’ Association) with triple levies – WHAT?!

Turns out the previous owner was in trouble for not building on the plot by the set deadline, and the HOA is unsympathetic to your pleas for an extension. You should, it says, have checked for such issues before buying – and if anyone’s to blame it’s the seller and the agent. Can that be right? A recent High Court decision gives the answers…

Do You Need a Second Will for Your Overseas Assets?

Increasingly, South Africans are acquiring foreign assets – investments, bank accounts, properties and the like.

If that applies to you, you’ve no doubt wondered whether your local South African will is enough to cover all your assets globally, or if it only applies to your local assets? Even if it does apply globally, should you consider having multiple wills anyway?

We’ll share some thoughts on when it’s a really good idea to have more than one will, how to go about preparing one, and how it will play out after your death.

Braai Chain Hauled Over the Coals for Hidden Service Charges and Fined R1m

Have you ever eaten out, and only noticed the “compulsory service charge” requirement after settling the bill? Or perhaps you’ve been blindsided by some hidden add-on to a service provider’s invoice?

The good news for consumers, and the warning for suppliers, is that the CPA (Consumer Protection Act) penalises a long list of “prohibited conduct”. And it has teeth, courtesy of the National Consumer Tribunal. As we shall see when we consider the case of the R1m fine imposed on a fast-food chain specialising in that good old South African tradition – braai.

Employers: How to Avoid Paying Severance Pay on Retrenchment

Retrenchment is at best an unpleasant and disruptive business for all concerned – and it can cost employers a great deal of money in the form of severance pay.

There is however a way to exempt yourself from that obligation if you can arrange alternative employment for those losing their jobs. As shown by a recent Labour Court case where an employer was found not liable for either retrenchment or notice pay. Both employers and employees need to take heed of the Court’s findings – there’s a lot at stake here.

Budget 2025: The Minister of Finance Wants to Hear from You!

“Together, government and business can drive the messages that matter most, which are those of resilience, opportunity, and shared prosperity.” (Minister of Finance, January 2025)

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has invited the public to share suggestions on the 2025 Budget he is expected to deliver on Wednesday, 19 February.

Go to National Treasury’s “Budget Tips for the Minister of Finance” page and fill out the online form.

Legal Speak Made Easy

“Obiter dicta”

Our courts are bound by their previous decisions on matters of law when deciding other, similar cases. Similarly, lower courts are bound by the decisions of superior courts. But only those findings by a court that are “pivotal to the determination of the matter” are binding in this way. Other statements in a judgment made “in passing” are said to be “obiter dicta” (singular “obiter dictum”). Literally meaning “other things said”, they may be “of potent persuasive force”, but they aren’t actually binding. Another court could disagree. So next time you read a media report along the lines of “the court said…”, or “the judge ruled…”, don’t assume that it’s now final law and binding on other courts – it usually is, but not always!

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 us for professional, detailed and appropriate advice.

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