HARASSMENT IN A COMMUNITY SCHEME: MUST RECOURSE BE SOUGHT UNDER THE HARASSMENT ACT OR THE CSOS ACT?
In a May 2024 judgment (MM v Kiewiet ZAGPPHC 411 (3 May 2024)), the Gauteng High Court was tasked with making a decision as to whether an interim protection order, issued under the Harassment Act, should be made final or not. The interim order was previously granted in favour of MM, prohibiting Kiewiet from verbally and physically abusing her and from threatening and harassing her.
At the hearing, Kiewiet’s legal team raised a point in limine: It was argued that since the conduct complained of occurred in the community scheme where both parties are resident, it was inappropriate to seek an order under the Harassment Act and that the provisions of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act were applicable.
HOLDER OF RIGHT OF EXTENSION IN A SECTIONAL TITLE SCHEME: WHEN DOES LIABILITY FOR MAINTENANCE CONTRIBUTION ARISE?
Club Kerkira (Pty) Limited v Trustees of Club Kerkira Body Corporate and Others ZAKZDHC 40 (4 June 2024)
The Kerkira sectional title scheme development was opened in 1992 on a large piece of land, some 44 hectares in extent. It was a phased development, the developer having registered a right to extend the scheme in future, in its name. Its aim was to erect a total of 101 units. The initial phase consisted of the erection of 16 homes, roads and certain infrastructure. For various reasons, development beyond the first phase did not proceed, saddling the 16 first-phase buyers, as body corporate, with the maintenance and administration obligations owed to the large common property. The developer refused to contribute towards the levies pertaining to the parts of the common property over which it held the right of future development, arguing that it was only liable to make good those maintenance expenses that the body corporate had actually incurred.
NEW TOOL TO GUIDE RESERVE BANK’S DECISION ON INTEREST RATES
Earlier this month, the South African Reserve Bank has constructed a new and more nuanced inflation measurement tool – the aim of which is to distinguish short-lived inflationary pressures from those showing more persistent trends.
This was announced and described in an economic note issued by the Reserve Bank, as follows: “In this economic note we construct a new measure of trend inflation for South Africa, named supercore inflation, to broaden the suite of indicators used by the SARB to monitor underlying price developments.”
The authors of the note state that the new measure will provide additional insight to policymakers, particularly in differentiating between inflationary pressures that are likely to be transient and those signalling more persistent trends. According to economic commentators, this may well add to the case for the central bank’s monetary policy committee to cut borrowing costs as soon as September. The key interest rate has been at a 15-year high of 8.25% since mid-2023.
BALANCING ACT: ILLEGALLY OCCUPIED MUNICIPAL LAND THAT ABUTS A HOLIDAY RESORT
Wessel Hamman Trust and Others v Emfuleni Local Municipality and Another ZAGPJHC 731 (13 August 2024)
There exists precedent in our law for awarding constitutional damages to a party where such party’s constitutional rights have been affected. In this judgment, the Court was approached for such an order, the applicant Trust, as owner of a holiday resort, alleging that it suffered constitutional damages because the local authority had failed in its statutory duty to remove illegal occupiers from land adjacent to its resort.
WOMEN WHO DEFINE GREATNESS
In honour of Women’s Month, Ghislaine Barends, Director at STBB Cape Town, shares her insights on the real challenge in practice to balance a thriving career and personal life. Join her thought-provoking podcast.
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Ensuring that your Will gives effect to your wishes for the devolution of your estate, requires careful consideration. Join Refqah in this webinar in which she will explain how to ensure that your children, spouse, partner or elderly parents are best provided for in your will.
