The Property Poser panel helps a reader this week whose elderly parents have had to sell their house due to financial difficulty but have now been served with an interdict halting the transfer process. The reader explains that when their issues started they fell in arrears with the bond payments. Plans were made to pay a portion of the outstanding repayments and the balance was restructured as … [Read more...]
Search Results for: Interdict
Neighbour’s overhanging branches encroach on property
A reader who lives in a leafy suburb feels she has tolerated her neighbour's branches encroaching on her property long enough and wants to know what her options are to remedy the situation. … [Read more...]
Consequences of creating noise pollution in residential suburb
A reader wants to know what the consequences could be for her son who is running a panel beater operation from his rented home and creating a disturbance in the neighbourhood. … [Read more...]
Body corporate to be granted access to inspect extensions
The owner of a unit in a sectional title complex has made some extensions to his house, apparently without the consent of the body corporate. … [Read more...]
Usufruct: rights and obligations
A reader approached our property experts about the way a usufruct operates, especially concerning the rights and obligations of the person using the property. … [Read more...]
Owner and body corporate lock horns over unpaid levy
A reader who has locked horns with his body corporate over an unpaid levy has asked the YourProperty expert for assistance in the escalating dispute. There seems to be some history to the matter but it is unclear whether the dispute is because the reader has not paid his levy or whether he has not paid his levy as a result of the dispute. The reader asks what steps he might follow should he … [Read more...]
Overhanging branches crack neighbourly relations
A reader who recently bought a new dwelling has asked the YourProperty expert for advice regarding the overhanging branches of a neighbour's tree, which are putting pressure on her boundary wall. Among other issues, the reader is concerned that she will be unable to install an electric fence as a result and that these branches may cause the walls to collapse. The reader says the … [Read more...]
Late rental short circuits electricity
The Property Poser panel has received a query from a reader who arranged a late payment of her monthly rental with the agent concerned but then found that her prepaid electricity card had been blocked. Unable to purchase electricity, she has approached the experts for advice. According to Lucille Geldenhuys from Lucille Geldenhuys Attorneys in Stellenbosch, the Rental Housing Act declares it … [Read more...]
Quick reference
Click one of these links for a quick solution to your problem. This page will be updated continuously. Annual General Meeting (AGM) Body corporate Chairman/Chairperson Commission Consumer Protection Act Co-ownership Deeds office Deposit Developer Divorce Drainage Eviction Fixture Fiduciary relationship Habitatio Homeowners Association (HOA) Huur gaat voor … [Read more...]
Good fences make good neighbours
This week the Property Poser experts dispute the old adage that good fences make good neighbours, as they assist a reader with a query about whether she can erect a fence between two adjoining properties without the other party’s consent. The reader alleges that her neighbour built an illegal one-metre high retaining wall on her side of the divide, and it is assumed that it is her intention to … [Read more...]
Neighbour’s runoff results in run-in
This week the Property Poser experts assist a reader whose neighbour’s stormwater runs across his property. The reader does not indicate if the neighbour did anything to divert the water onto his property or whether it just appears to be the natural flow of the water. He would like to know what his neighbour’s obligations are and whether the National Building Regulations and Standards Act is … [Read more...]
Co-ownership creates strained relations
Problems associated with co-ownership is an oft-repeated topic for our Property Poser experts. This week’s situation highlights just how difficult the relationship can be. A reader writes that she co-owns a residential property with her mother, who has lived there since they purchased it. The daughter has moved out on occasion and during this time any tenants had to contribute to her portion of … [Read more...]
Neighbour oversteps her boundaries
Whenever people live in close proximity to one another, it seems that possibilities for conflict abound. This week the Property Poser panel considers the contentious issue of neighbours overstepping their boundaries. A reader writes that her neighbour planted a hedge on her own side of a shared boundary wall but that, over time, the hedge grew and covered the whole wall, including the reader’s … [Read more...]
Tenant faces unreasonable rental demands
This week the Property Poser panel addresses a problem from a reader who is renting a cottage on another person’s property. She explains that she pays her rental in advance and her utilities in arrears and settles them jointly around the 27th, even though her lease stipulates that they are only due at the end of the month. Recently, her landlady obtained an up-to-date municipal account … [Read more...]
Noisy neighbours nettle owner
This week the Property Poser panel helps a reader who is at his wits’ end with noisy neighbours. He writes that the owner of the next-door property rents it out to eight students, who often hold loud parties until the early hours. He has had meetings with the owner, who has undertaken to do something about the noise. However, instead of improving the situation, it has worsened. The … [Read more...]
Suretyship makes CC members liable
This week the Property Poser panel deals with an issue where the defaulting tenant of a rental property is not a natural person but a close corporation (CC). The reader asks how a landlord can hold a tenant liable for a breach of contract when the tenant is a CC with only one member. In this instance, the contract has been cancelled and the tenant evicted. Unfortunately, no sureties were … [Read more...]
Unseating a chairperson
After experiencing ongoing problems with the chairperson of her homeowners' association (HOA), a reader asks our panel what the correct procedure is for unseating such a person. The reader says that, despite the HOA members having voted unanimously for her removal, she is continuing in the role. The chairperson contends her dismissal is merely temporary until a current dispute with her … [Read more...]
Dumping a problem for residents
This week our panel of experts grapples with the growing problem of dumping on undeveloped land by unscrupulous neighbours and builders. A reader whose home borders on one such vacant property writes that she has two issues – firstly, with the dumping of rubbish and, secondly, with the overgrowth of trees and shrubs. With regard to the first issue, the unbearable smell emanating from the … [Read more...]
