Demolish or go to jail” developer in the doghouse
30 days – that’s how long a property developer will spend in the local lock-up unless he demolishes illegal building works.
A deviation from plans…
- A property developer obtained municipal approval to build a house on his property
- The municipality, finding on inspection that the construction taking place deviated from the approved plans, obtained a court order forbidding him to continue
- Undaunted, the developer carried on building, ignoring notices clarifying his legal position, a direction to “cease all work forthwith” and ultimately the threat of a contempt of court order
- Hauled back to court, he tried to convince the court that, having applied for special consent to the deviation from the plan, he believed that he was entitled to continue building
- Unsurprisingly the Court was not impressed with this defence and, refusing to condone his conduct, found him guilty of contempt of court
- Commenting that the object of contempt of court proceedings is not only to vindicate the court’s honour but also to compel performance of court orders, the court sentenced the developer to 30 days, suspended for 2 years on condition that he demolishes the illegal building work within 30 days, and thereafter complies with the original order
So what do you do if your neighbour builds illegally?
Regular readers will recall the oft-repeated advice to seek legal assistance immediately you become aware of any illegal building activity in your area. Don’t delay; you need to move quickly and decisively. And once again our courts have confirmed that every municipality has “not only a statutory duty but also a moral duty to uphold the law and to see to due compliance …..” Nor will our courts tread softly when it comes to assisting municipalities in carrying out this duty
For more information contact us and make an appointment for a free consultation.
Property agreements, an alteration could sink your sale!
“Agreement makes law” (Old legal maxim)
Although in our law most verbal contracts are binding, property sale agreements are an exception. They must be in writing and signed by the parties to be valid, the reason being that it greatly reduces the risk of confusion or dispute as to what the buyer and seller have actually agreed.
In practice https://www.cialissansordonnancefr24.com/cialis-pas-cher/ of course, the buyer’s initial offer is usually in the form of a written document which only becomes an agreement if and when signed in acceptance by the seller , and often that initial offer sparks negotiation, usually over price or other important terms, with the result that sale agreements are frequently amended both before and after signature.
A recent High Court case shows once again how vital it is to ensure that any such amendments have actually been agreed to by both seller and buyer.
An offer “accepted” – or was it?
- A buyer offered R6.3m for a property
- The seller signed the Offer to Purchase in “acceptance”, but conditionally, with changes to clauses relating to inspection of the property by a Building Inspector.
- The buyer, seeing these alterations only after paying a 10% deposit, rejected them and demanded her deposit back
- When the seller refunded only part of the deposit (arguing that her acceptance of the offer had resulted in a valid and enforceable sale agreement) the buyer went to court.
The law on conditional acceptance
Ordering the seller to refund the balance of the deposit to the buyer, the Court held that:
- The seller had to prove that the buyer had agreed to the written contract “in its final form”
- Conditional acceptance of an offer amounts to either – a rejection of the offer, or a counter–offer
- When there are outstanding issues requiring further negotiation, either there is no contract at all, or a contract is formed with an understanding that the outstanding issues would be negotiated at a later stage
On the facts of this case, the seller’s alterations were material and amounted to a counter-offer which was never accepted by the buyer. There was, therefore, no sale.
Avoiding the trap
Make sure that any changes to sale documents correctly reflect your agreement, and that both parties sign or initial them in confirmation. And as always with property transactions, don’t take any chances – sign nothing without your lawyer’s advice!
For more information contact us and make an appointment for a free consultation.