ECONOMY

In order to assist with the integration of the UK with the EU, the citizens of the UK have been asked to refrain from using the phrase

BUSINESS

Toeter: the Afrikaans version of Twitter. Sounds vaguely indecent doesn

PROPERTY

Sell on this: First-time homeowners are becoming more and more active in the market. It is said that this is owing to fear that rising prices might preclude them from buying in future.

Last week I reported that the national average office vacancy rate for the 2nd quarter increased to 11.3%, primarily owing to new developments in Sandton. The office vacancy rate influenced in central Durban is 20.4%, that in the centre of Johannesburg is 17.7% and that of central Pretoria, 10.4%.

The JSE property sector has delivered a paltry 6.3% total return on the 1st half-year, after its run over the past few years beating the broader all shares index.

PRACTICE

The National Prosecuting Authority has refused to honour a court order to the effect that it should pay a claimant the maintenance denied her as a result of the negligence of its offices. It will appeal. One can understand the motivation; what is less nice is its unwillingness to stand up for its bugger-ups.

The prescribed rate of interest has been stuck for some years at 15.5%. With effect from August 1 that rate will been 9.0%. GN 37831.

The new SARS transfer duty receipt forms do not provide for the conveyancer's name on the receipt. Our Registrar has ruled that receipts are a certificate given by a conveyancer and that these must include the full name of the conveyancer signing the document.

An article in today's Beeld says that attorneys who institute legal steps against non-paying members of holiday clubs or clubs who blacklist such members may end up in hot water. Some 700,000 South Africans are members of holiday clubs and a commission is investigating the trading practices of these clubs. It is expected that drastic legislative amendments will be recommended in order to curtail illegal and unfair practices in this sector.

CASES & SUCH

Acceleration clauses

An acceleration clause allows a creditor to call up the whole of the outstanding debt if a debtor defaults on a payment. It is commonly used to save the creditor the trouble of having to sue individually for each of the payments that were not paid. Its misuse may be struck down by our courts. I have on hand a short article written by Werksmans in which the writer discusses a case where an arear instalment of some R42k was paid after demand and which payment omitted the payment of R 86 in interest. The creditor sought to enforce an acceleration clause claiming R7.6m. The court rejected the enforcement by the creditor as contrary to public policy. Ask me for a copy.

Vested and contingent rights; a spes

When one deals with trust law and the law of succession, the terms "vested" and "contingent" is often used. What are their exact meaning? How is a spes (an expectation) distinguished from a contingent right. Can contingent rights be suspensive or resolutive rights and how they valued? I have an article by Van Dorsten ex The Taxpayer, on the subject, should you be interested

Suitability of property for the purpose of rental

In this case a property was let to a lessee for the purpose of a petrol service station. For various reasons the property was not compliant with the local bylaws. The owner inserted a clause in the contract stating that the property was not suitable for the purposes for which it was let which the lessee accepted. The lessee stopped paying rental for this very reason. The court found that the inclusion of a warranty clause in the contract was simply a means to divest the owner completely of its common law obligations arising from the lease. If the premises was let for a specific purpose, the owner was under a duty to deliver the property in a condition reasonably fit for that purpose. As the lessee could not have use of the building for the purposes for which it was intended, it was absolved from the payment of rental.
Gateway properties [2014] ZAKZPHC 41

QUOTABLES

WEIRD & WONDERFUL

You have to love this man: "There is no real BEE policy in the country. It was just a system designed by white men to protect their capital."

LIGHTEN UP

Q: Why does the law society prohibit s@x between lawyers and their clients?

A: To prevent clients from being billed twice for what is essentially the same service.

Your attorney and your mother-in-law are trapped in a burning building. You only have time to save only one of them. Do you have lunch or go to a movie?

How can you tell there's an afterlife for lawyers? Because after they die, they lie still.

How do you kill a lawyer when he's drinking? Slam the toilet seat on his head.