SPLITTING HAIRS OVER SPLITTING COMMISSION
Beijers v Harlequin Duck Properties 231 (Pty) Ltd t/a Office Space Online (1216/2017) [2019] ZASCA 89 (31 May 2019)
This judgment deals with a dispute between two commercial brokers regarding payment of commission. In the written appointment of Agent A at the estate agency, it was recorded that Agent A was entitled to commission where she was the effective cause of a transaction. Agent B, a colleague who in some way assisted with the transactions, later argued that as he assisted Agent A, he was entitled to part of her commission because Agent A was not the sole cause of the successful deal. Was such interpretation warranted in the context? Could Agent B rely on a so-called tacit term that such was their arrangement; or, rely on an oral agreement changing the terms of the written appointment where the written appointment contained a non-variation clause?.
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HOME BUILDER BUILDING HOME TO RENT MUST ALSO REGISTER WITH NHBRC
National Home Builders’ Registration Council & Another v Xantha Properties 18 (Pty) Ltd (780/2018, 784/2018) [2019] ZASCA 96 (21 June 2019)
According to the Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act 95 of 1998, all new homes must be enrolled with the NHBRC 15 days prior to construction and an enrollment fee must be paid. Home enrolment insures consumers against poor building practices and permits the NHBRC to conduct building inspections at key stages of construction. The question that was disputed in this matter was whether this requirement applied where the builder intended to lease the buildings and not sell them, effectively then being required to insure with the NHBRC against itself.
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The Judgment
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