Maryna holds the BA, LLB, LLM degrees and is a Director at the Cape Town branch of STBB. She is an admitted Attorney, Notary Public, Conveyancer and Insolvency Practitioner with many years of experience in the fields of property law, conveyancing and the laws relating to corporate compliance (especially in respect of the FICA and POPIA laws). Up until 2018 she was also head of the firm’s national marketing portfolio. She is a seasoned public speaker and presenter, both in person and online. She prepares text for the majority of STBB’s internal and external publications and is editor and co-writer for two pivotal publications in the South African real estate industry – the ABC of Conveyancing (JUTA) and Delport’s South African Property Law and Practice (JUTA).

Property Law Update | Hard lockdown and commercial tenant-landlord obligations

Freestone Property Investment (Pty) Ltd vs Remake Consultants CC and Another (2020/29927) [2021] ZAGPJHC 150 (25 August 2021)

Hard lockdown hit commercial tenants and their landlords without discriminating between the two. The court here was asked to find that a commercial landlord’s cancellation of the lease was unlawful, the tenant arguing that due to the supervening impossibility caused by lockdown, it could not be obliged to pay rentals. But the court warned that the answer has nuances, including that during hard lockdown both parties were prevented from performing, and that a continued failure to pay rental after the lifting of hard lockdown had to be addressed separately. It is a worthwhile read for commercial landlords and tenants.

Summary of the Judgment

The Judgment

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