Stucky v Brechoost CC and Another (D5105/2020) [2021] ZAKZDHC 26 (18 August 2021)
In pursuance of an oral agreement for the sale of land concluded in 2012, the purchaser signed an offer to purchase in 2018 and subsequently sought the Court’s assistance when the representative of the seller, a CC, refused to sign in acceptance. This after the members had, in an undated resolution, approved the sale and appointed the representative to sign the necessary documentation to effect transfer. In fact, a power of attorney was signed in which the CC’s representative authorised the conveyancers to pass transfer to the purchaser. But the Court refused to force the CC to sign the offer. This was because the purchaser’s application, in essence, sought for the offer to be constituted as a valid deed of sale, in these circumstances. This, the Court held, would side-step the Alienation of Land Act’s requirement that for a sale agreement of land to be valid, it must be recorded in writing and signed by the parties or their representatives.