IF THERE IS NO PRIOR AGREEMENT ON THE COMMISSION AMOUNT, IS IT THEN NOT PAYABLE?
Golden Rewards 120 CC t/a Remax Marine v M3 Holdings (Pty) Ltd (D42/2019) [2024] ZAKZDHC 22 (10 May 2024)
This judgment speaks volumes about commonplace challenges that estate agents face daily. In this case, in exercising a verbal (and later written) mandate to find a tenant for a five-year period for a commercial property, the agent had introduced a tenant to the landlord, facilitated various amendments to the terms of the lease, and caused the tenant to submit a draft lease for signature by the landlord. The landlord accepted the terms and proceeded to arrange signature of a lease agreement, excluding the agent. The agent’s subsequent enquiry about payment of commission was dismissed, with the landlord retorting that no commission was payable as both the oral and written mandate were concluded on the basis that commission was still to be agreed upon, which agreement never occurred.
The judgment can be viewed here
Summary of the Judgment
YOUR MARITAL REGIME AND OWNERSHIP OF IMMOVABLE PROPERTY
Matrimonial Property Act 88 of 1984
In our experience, when couples are on the brink of celebrating the ‘big day’, they are confident that they understand the legal consequences of entering into a marriage. Learning subsequently that a whole array of provisions contained in the Matrimonial Property Act are automatically applicable and may limit, amongst other things, their capacity to enter into agreements, might come as a surprise.
