DEVELOPER’S REVERSIONARY RIGHT PRESCRIBES
Bondev Midrand (Pty) Limited v Ramokgopa (72637/2013) [2015] ZAGPPHC (27 October 2015)
Developers often include a clause in their agreements requiring purchasers to erect buildings on the stands bought within a given time, so as to prompt establishment of a township without vacant lots. Depending on the wording employed, and despite this provision being registered in a title deed and granting the developer the right to claim re-transfer if the buildings were not timeously erected, the right to claim re-transfer can prescribe in the hands of the developer, as this judgment shows.
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Summary of the Judgment
REDUCED RATES FOR HOA BECAUSE IT MAINTAINS ITS OWN INFRASTRUCTURE?
Blair Atholl Homeowners Association v The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (20634/2014) [2015] ZASCA 195 (1 December 2015)
This matter relates to the homeowners’ association and developer in an upmarket estate disputing why they were required to pay equivalent rates to property owners outside the estate when they maintain their own services in the estate. The Supreme Court of Appeal found that neither the Constitution, which gives municipalities the power to levy rates on property, nor the Rates Act links municipal property services with rates. It was thus not inequitable for the property owners to be charged equivalent rates to differently situated ratepayers.
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The Judgment
Summary of the Judgment