News & Articles
Personal servitudes and how they apply to agricultural land
What is a personal servitude?
A personal servitude is one in which a specific person acquires certain rights and powers of use over a specific thing or property of another person. The rights of the specific servitude attaches to a person in their personal capacity. Therefore, if the person dies, the servitude will lapse together with all the rights given to the servitude holder over the specific property of the other person. In general, the duration of a personal servitude is directly connected to the lifespan of the holder of the servitude.
Are you liable for interest on municipal rates accounts not received?
“I purchased my first house a few months ago and have never received a municipal rates and taxes account from the municipality. I tried a few times to call the municipality but no one got back to me. When I eventually went to the municipality, I was informed that I am in arrears and that they have charged me interest even though I never even received an account. Can they do this?”
POPIA deadline looming and regulations about to take effect
“I own a local store making custom items for our clients. Because of the nature of some of the client requests I have to use other suppliers and have to share basic information about my clients with them. I am aware of POPIA and I understand that we need to comply including to new regulations that I understand have been issued. My question is to what extent and by when will I need to meet all these requirements?”
Skills Development remains a vital aspect in your BEE planning
“Our company falls under the Generic BEE Codes. As we are 51% Black-owned but under R50 million turnover we have not undergone BEE verification but relied on a signed BEE affidavit confirming that we are an automatic level 2 B-BBEE contributor. Now it appears we may exceed the R50 million mark this year and have to verify as a Generic Enterprise. As HR manager I have now been tasked with getting our skills development planning in place should we need to verify. Where do I start?”
Data breaches in terms of POPIA: what you need to know
“Our consultancy business has quite a diverse client base. Over the weekend, the laptop of one of our employees was stolen. The laptop contains personal information of our clients and it appears that it was not password protected making the data accessible. Will this be a data breach in terms of POPIA, and if so, what are we required to do?”
POPIA: the role and liability of an operator
The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) defines a number of different persons who may either be involved in and/ or responsible for the processing and protection of personal data, or, alternatively, are the persons to whom such personal data relates. One of these persons is the “operator”.
Buying or selling a property and unsure what costs you will be responsible for?
The buyer will be...
Who must submit a compliance report in terms of section 13G of the B-BBEE Act?
“I recently saw an article about the B-BBEE Commission requiring BEE compliance reports to be submitted to it. I don’t really know what a compliance report is or who must submit such. Will my business have to do this?”
The final say on business interruption insurance and Covid-19
“I’ve been following the media reports relating to the Café Chameleon case and their claim that their business interruption insurance covers losses suffered due to Covid-19. The last I heard was that this case was being appealed by the insurer. I have a similar argument going with my insurers, and would like to know whether there is any finality yet on the matter.”
Good news for offshore structures
“I noted an article the other day that referred to tax restrictions for loop structures. What is a loop structure and how have restrictions been reduced?”
Can my employee refuse to come to work because of Covid-19?
“Although we are nearing the tail-end of the Covid-pandemic, I still have a number of my employees that are refusing to come to work because of Covid-19. I’ve tolerated them being at home, but my problem is that there is very little work they can do from home, yet I have to pay them. Can I force them to come back?”
Can a testator rule from the grave?
“I was recently appointed as the executor of a deceased estate of a family member. The provisions of the deceased’s last will and testament are very strict and every bequest is subject to some form of condition. Do I have to adhere to the provisions of the last will and testament or did the deceased exceed his right to rule from the grave?”
Can I run an Airbnb from my sectional title unit?
“I am an owner of a sectional title unit and would like to advertise my unit for short term rentals on Airbnb, is this legally allowed?”
Vicarious liability
You’re in a situation where one of your employees negligently caused a fire which damaged your neighbour’s property. Did you know that you could be held liable for such an action? This is known as vicarious liability.
Does your pension payments form part of your insolvent estate?
“I am on the verge of being declared insolvent. In the next few years I will receive pension payouts from my pension fund. I am concerned, though, that my pension will also fall into my insolvent estate and I will lose my pension? Will this happen?”
Who can inherit from a child’s estate?
“I have a friend who has been looking after her grandson since birth when her daughter just walked out on the child after he was born with deformities. My friend managed to obtain a settlement with the hospital for negligence during the birth and now takes care of the child using the money from the settlement. The child is very sick and may not have much time left with the biological mother suddenly making an appearance to try and claim the remainder of the settlement money. Surely my friend is entitled to the money having taken care of the child all her life? What is the position in law?”
How valid is signing an agreement electronically?
“I’ve grown up signing our business contracts with pen on paper. With Covid however, most of my suppliers send me their agreements electronically which I sign by adding a copy of my signature digitally or, in some cases using specific software through which I then add my signature. It does make things easier, but I was wondering how valid and binding these agreements are?”
Can a settlement agreement override fair tender procedures?
“After losing a tender, we lodged a complaint with the department against their awarding of the tender to a bidder who we are aware operates in a less than reputable fashion. The department informed us they would cancel the tender. Subsequently we have heard that although the tender was cancelled, the department wants to enter into a settlement agreement with the bidder to avoid litigation. Surely such a settlement agreement cannot override fair tender procedures?”
POPIA: the role and responsibilities of the Information Officer
By now the news of the 1 July 2020 commencement date for the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) has done the rounds and most persons who are required to comply with POPIA’s provisions are now in the midst of either implementing or updating their compliance frameworks to ensure that by the time the grace period ends and POPIA’s provisions become enforceable, on 1 July 2021, they can reasonably show the Information Regulator (POPIA’s supervisory authority), that their processing activities are compliant with POPIA’s conditions.
Arguably, one of the key areas to address in POPIA compliance is the role of the Information Officer. In this article we outline the key compliance considerations with respect to the appointment and role of the Information Officer as it relates to POPIA.
51% black equity tender pre-qualification criteria found to be invalid
“My business is 26% black owned but has been excluded from a number of tenders because of pre-qualification criteria for tenders being set at being at least 51% black owned. I’ve seen in the news though that this practice has been scratched by the courts. Is this true?”
Prescription and surety don’t always play well together
“Our company is owed money by one of our contractor companies who we helped with finance and provided us with personal sureties by the shareholders as security for the transaction. They have been making promises that they will pay for some time and we left it, but now we are getting worried about prescription. We are also unsure whether if we act against the sureties, prescription will be halted for the contractor or may continue and we lose our claim against the company itself. Can you advise?”
Is a power of attorney an abdication, or temporary delegation of your authority to act?
“I recently had to sign a power of attorney authorising my attorney to act on my behalf in my property transfer. It just got me wondering about what exactly a power of attorney means and for how long it remains valid. Can you enlighten me?”
What Covid tax relief measures can my company qualify for?
“I have a construction company which has been hard hit by the Covid-pandemic and although I have managed to keep our doors open and not retrench my employees, we are in dire straits. I understand that there are some tax relief measures which I can access to assist my company. Is this true?”
What to do if my pesky neighbour keeps parking in the visitors parking area
“One of the residents of the sectional title scheme I live in, constantly parks his vehicle in the parking bays designated for visitors. This is frustrating as there is limited visitors parking and often visitors are forced to park outside the scheme which is inconvenient and a safety risk. What can be done about this resident?”
Sustainable forest management in South Africa
Every South African citizen has the Constitutional right for the environment to be protected for future generations. Natural forests, wooded areas and plantations form an important part of South Africa’s ecology and economy and, as such, it is important that these natural resources are managed in a sustainable manner.
Can your ex-spouse circulate your private information?
“My ex-husband still has access to our shared cloud account. Unbeknown to me this meant he could see all my back-ups of messages, photos and other personal information. Our divorce did not end well and he is now sharing private and personal information of me with third parties to embarrass me and to try and portray me as a bad parent. What can I do to stop him?”
Service provider or labour broker?
“Our company wants to help out one of our oldest clients by allowing some of our labourers to work for a few months for the client on a project at the client’s site. The client has had to layoff staff during Covid-19 and we would temporarily help him out with our labourers. We would continue to pay our staff with the client paying us a service fee for the labourers and other support services. Our human resources manager however is concerned that we could be seen as labour brokers should we move forward with this arrangement. Would this be the case?”
The rights of a dissenting shareholder in a scheme of arrangement
“I’m a minority shareholder in a company that has been approached by a buyer willing to buy out all the shareholders. Because of Covid-19 the company has suffered financially and I know that the shareholders holding more than 75% of the company will want to accept the offer even though I believe it to be far below the market value of the shares. Is there any remedy at my disposal?”
Can a body corporate institute action against the sectional title developer?
“In our sectional title scheme, it has become clear that many of the structures on the common property have been poorly built and are defective. However, the body corporate is uncertain whether it can take action against the developer for these defects and accordingly nothing is happening. Surely the body corporate should be able to do something?”
Is government liable for an accident at a private nursery school?
“I recently saw an article in the news saying that the Western Cape Department of Social Development was not responsible for injuries caused to a child in a day care funded by the Department. Surely this cannot be right and the Department should be responsible?”