Petropulos and Another v Dias (1055/2018)[2020] ZASCA 53 (21 May 2020)
Your neighbour’s building activities, conducted in terms of approved plans, causes subsidence on your property and damage to your home. Is there a legal duty on landowners to provide lateral support, i.e. to have your land physically supported by adjoining land in built-up urban areas? Must negligence be proved? This judgment settles the law in this regard, holding that that the duty of lateral support exists in an urban environment. It is a strict liability which extends to buildings on contiguous pieces of land provided that, in the specific circumstances, there is a link between the conduct complained of and the damage that resulted.
The Judgment can be viewed here.
The Judgment
Summary of the Judgment |