Legal and Property Advice from the Professionals
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 … [Read more...]
From time to time, the Property Poser experts assist readers whose property assets are a source of conflict in their divorce proceedings. In this instance, the reader was married out of community of property under the accrual system. He and his wife bought a piece of land and built a dwelling on it, where they both lived until the end of last year when she moved out due to marital … [Read more...]
This week, the Property Poser experts deal with a situation in which a tenant has been inadvertently underpaying her montly rental for approximately a year. The reader writes that, upon termination of her lease, the agency used by her landlord to collect the rental discovered that they had been invoicing her incorrectly. The tenant had dutifully paid the monthly amount based on the invoice … [Read more...]
This week, the Property Poser experts deal with a situation in which a tenant has been inadvertently underpaying her montly rental for approximately a year. The reader writes that, upon termination of her lease, the agency used by her landlord to collect the rental discovered that they had been invoicing her incorrectly. The tenant had dutifully paid the monthly amount based on the invoice … [Read more...]
An anxious reader tells the Property Poser experts that she concluded a rental agreement with a tenant, which specifically stated that one month’s notice would be given to vacate the premises should the property be sold. The lease agreement was on a month-to-month basis. Earlier this year it appears that the property was, in fact, sold and around this time the tenant gave notice to both owner … [Read more...]
This week a reader seeks expert advice from the Property Poser panel regarding an unreturned deposit on a rental property she vacated two years ago. Her landlord claims that she is liable for additional expenses such as sewage and refuse removal and is withholding the money in lieu of these. Although a written lease was concluded, the reader has checked the terms and it is silent on this … [Read more...]
This week the Property Poser panel helps a reader whose Home Owners’ Association (HOA) makes unilateral decisions affecting residents without achieving a quorum at meetings. Although the required number of members are never present, the reader says the HOA continues to make changes to the rules of her complex. This includes the building design and style of new homes being erected and, she … [Read more...]
This week the Property Poser experts field a query from a reader who rents out her second property for a minimal monthly amount, provided that the tenant maintains it to a habitable standard. Despite the negligible rental, the reader says the tenant pays irregularly and has made changes to the property without her consent. The tenant is now claiming that the owner owes him money, based on … [Read more...]
This week, the Property Poser panel contemplates the legal rights concerned with granting the use, or habitatio, of a property. A reader granted her pensioner father the right to stay in her house, a property separate from her residence, but now wishes to sell it in order to use the proceeds elsewhere. Her father is not willing to leave or seek alternative accommodation. The reader would … [Read more...]
This week, a reader confronts the Property Poser panel with a rather complex issue regarding levy payments in a freehold estate. He owns a property in such a development, which is managed by a homeowners' association (HOA). When the estate was developed, he says, it was decided that there would be 25 separate plots and that the levy would be shared equally among the owners. A few owners, … [Read more...]
This week, the panel deals with an interesting situation involving conflict over a holiday house owned by a family in a close corporation. The man, his wife and children are all members, but the husband has recently passed away. Unfortunately, his wife and one of their children took it upon themselves to go to the property, empty it out and arrange for a long-term tenant to take … [Read more...]
This week our reader's letter deals with the management and conduct rules in a sectional title complex. He understands that, while these rules are absolutely necessary, prospective buyers do not always know what they are getting themselves into when buying in a complex. As a trustee of the body corporate in charge of the complex where he resides, he has devised a way to ensure that all … [Read more...]
Purchasing a property from a deceased estate is often fraught with problems. The question before the panel this week relates to a transfer that appears to have hit a dead end. Some time ago, a reader signed an offer to purchase on a property that formed part of a deceased estate. The previous owner had passed away two years before and the deceased’s sister appeared to be dealing with the … [Read more...]
This week our experts help a reader sort out a rather complex and emotional legal problem involving her parents and their right of use on part of her property. The reader's situation did not begin as a usufruct-related issue. She had initially invited her parents to come and live on her property and build a cottage there. After the building was completed, her parents suggested that they … [Read more...]
This week, our panel deals with a question from a reader grappling with the issue of moral defects versus latent and patent ones. The reader is currently renting a property, which is on the market and has been viewed by several potential buyers. When questioned by the viewers about possible issues or faults relating to the property, he has responded truthfully. Unfortunately, it appears that … [Read more...]
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