ANOTHER DEMOLITION OF ENCROACHING BUILDING ORDERED
Bet-el Faith Mission v Motthamme and Others
We have often before reported on case law where owners were ordered to demolish buildings built without municipal approval. This matter deals with a related scenario where demolition is sought of an encroaching building that was built without municipal building plan approval. It is a valuable read as the Court highlights that where encroachment is the only problem, there exists a discretion to either order the removal of the encroachment or to award damages and compensation, depending on certain considerations. However, where the building is also built illegally, without municipal approval there is little discretion as the Court will not condone an illegality.
The Judgment can be viewed here:
The Judgment
Summary of the Judgment
CAN MANDAMENT VAN SPOLIE ASSIST WHERE THE OBJECT USED AND POSSESSED BY ONE IS DESTROYED BY ANOTHER?
Moosa v Ramsugit and Others (76/2020) [2020] ZAECPEHC 3 (30 January 2020)
An interesting question arose in this matter, namely whether a mandament van spolie could be used to restore possession of a container that had been destroyed. The answer is no, as possession could not be returned and the complainant accordingly has to seek alternative remedies. A further enquiry was whether a constitutional issue arose in that the complainant’s rights were unlawfully infringed upon. Could the mandament then be applied nonetheless?
The Judgment can be viewed here:
