Maryna holds the BA, LLB, LLM degrees and is an Executive Consultant at the Cape Town branch of STBB. She is an admitted Attorney, Notary Public, Conveyancer and Insolvency Practitioner with many years of experience in the fields of property law, conveyancing and the laws relating to corporate compliance (especially in respect of the FICA and POPIA laws). Up until 2018 she was also head of the firm’s national marketing portfolio. She is a seasoned public speaker and presenter, both in person and online. She prepares text for the majority of STBB’s internal and external publications and is editor and co-writer for two pivotal publications in the South African real estate industry – the ABC of Conveyancing (JUTA) and Delport’s South African Property Law and Practice (JUTA).

Property Law Update | No escape from the simple words of the alienation of land act when selling or buying land

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.

Summary of the Judgment

The Judgment

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