Maryna holds the BA, LLB, LLM degrees and is a Director 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 Practitioners Act | Instalment 2

What changes are required to your mandate and other documentation?

This is #2 in our short series of 10 instalments on the most important requirements that you must implement to be ready and compliant with the Property Practitioners Act on 1 February 2022.

  1. On all letterheads and marketing material a guarantee regarding the existence of a Fidelity Fund Certificate must appear. The wording is prescribed, and is as follows:
    “Registered with the PPA”.
  2. All agreements must contain a sentence with the following prescribed wording:
    “(Insert name of property practitioner named in the agreement) hereby warrants the validity of his/her/its Fidelity Fund certificate as at date of signature of this Agreement.”
  3. Make provision, in your lease and sale agreements (and even in the mandate as well), for attachment of the prescribed Disclosure Form. The regulations require that the Disclosure Form must be completed by the landlord/seller before a mandate is concluded. For more detail relating to the Disclosure Form, see #1 in this series.
  4. All emails, letters, contracts, business cards, marketing material and similar communications must reflect the following:
    • In respect of the agency or sole proprietorship: That the business holds a Fidelity Fund Certificate in its capacity as a business property practitioner; and whether or not that business operates a trust account;
    • In respect of each natural persons that is associated with or operates under the auspices of that business property practitioner:
      1. the name of that person and a statement that he/she holds a Fidelity Fund Certificate; and
      2. the capacity in which such person acts (i.e. principal, a full status property practitioner or otherwise).
  5. Co-signature in respect of candidate estate agents: When a candidate estate agent concludes a mandate in respect of a sale or lease, or drafts documentation in respect of a transaction, make sure to include a place for co-signature by the full status property practitioner that supervises the candidate.
  6. With regards to sole mandates, remember
    1. to ensure that the expiry date of the mandate (or extension, as the case may be) is expressed as a calendar date; and
    2. that it records an undertaking on the part of the seller not to confer a similar mandate on another property practitioner before the expiry of the agreed period.

For more information, contact us at info@stbb.co.za

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