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 | Issue 1 – 2024

TRUSTEES’ GOOD FAITH OBLIGATION: LEAVE PERSONAL BATTLES ASIDE

Body Corporate of Sunnyside Gardens v Perreira ZAGPPHC 1960 (28 November 2023)

Making oneself available as a trustee in a sectional title scheme is not without challenges. It obliges the appointed person to, amongst other things, act in good faith, this including the need to keep personal disputes separate from the matters to which the trustees are by law required to attend. Take this November 2023 judgment which tells the story of a chairman and trustee whose dislike of a co-trustee landed the body corporate with a R50 000 defamation liability after the two published unsupported allegations about the other trustee to all the trustees and managing agent.

The Judgment
Summary of the Judgment

LEASING ONLY THE ARABLE PORTION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND: IS THE MINISTER’S CONSENT STILL REQUIRED?

Hanekom and Another v Lombard (A33/2023) [2023] ZAWCHC 237 (7 September 2023)

For many in the real estate industry, the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act 70 of 1970 is notorious. This is because non-compliance with section 3 thereof can sink a lease or sale transaction. The judgment discussed below is a reminder of the nasty consequences of non-compliance. It is also particularly interesting as the court rejected the tenants’ argument that the fact that they leased only the arable potions of the farm (without the required Ministerial consent) was ‘technically’ not a transgression.

As always it remains prudent to obtain sound legal assistance before concluding transactions relating to agricultural land.

The Judgment
Summary of the Judgment

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