Barry Botha Breytenbach

Compliance certificates required when selling a property

There is a duty on the Seller when selling an immovable property to provide certain certificates of compliance to the Purchaser.There are five compliance certificates that the Seller is required to obtain at his/her own cost before the transfer of the property takes place. The following are the necessary certificates: Electrical Compliance Certificate The Electrical […]

The Rei Vindicatio and the Actio ad Exhibendum

This article will briefly look at two actions that can be instituted simultaneously, and an alternative to each other, when you have been wrongfully deprived of possession of your property. The first action is the rei vindicatio. This action is instituted in order to claim the physical return of one’s property. The second action, which will […]

Can you be fired if artificial intelligence can do your job?

Social media has been flooded with chatter about the chatbot phenomenon ChatGPT which seems destined to be able to, if not far better do, what humans can! So, what does this mean for employees? Can you be replaced by a bot like ChatGPT? In this article, we take a closer look at what this could mean for employees in […]

Can trustees sell trust property to their own company?

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) recently deliberated on whether a court sanction is necessary to validate the sale of shares owned by a trust to a company controlled indirectly by two of the trustees of the trust. This matter was addressed in the case of Kuttel vs Master of the High Court and Others. Peter […]

Starting a business in South Africa: Legal requirements and the Companies Act

Starting a business takes careful planning and involves compliance with certain legal requirements. It is important to understand the relevant regulations and legal requirements to be complied with, so you can make sure you do what is best for the business you are starting. The Companies Act is the primary legislation governing a company and […]

I can no longer afford to pay maintenance, what should I do?

Many of us are still recovering from the harsh effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of us are faced with the issue of not being able to meet our financial obligations. One such obligation could be a maintenance order. South African law, imposes harsh sanctions on maintenance debtors who fail to adhere to their maintenance […]

Dream holiday or nightmare! An overview of the property time-sharing control act

This article broadly looks at property time-share and the legislation regulating it. The problems and complaints by consumers trapped in the empty and misleading promises advertised to them by the time-share industry are also addressed. In part one, the article gives a broad outline of what the Property Time-Sharing Control Act entails and specific definitions […]

Parenting coordinators and their decision-making powers

Scenario: Assuming the divorcing parties enter into a parenting plan in respect of their children which contains the following clause: “If the parties are unable to reach an agreement on any major joint decisions in respect of the children, the dispute shall be referred to the parenting coordinator who shall attempt to resolve the dispute […]

Fraud: Remedies available to defrauded parties

Fraud can be defined as the unlawful and intentional making of a representation that causes actual or potential prejudice to another. Parties often act on the strength of another’s representation in order to commit some or other act. Such an innocent party may have acted to their detriment if the representation was fraudulent. The innocent […]