12th May 2020
Electronic Signatures In a world faced with a COVID-19 pandemic, strict social distancing rules and a country-wide lockdown, handwritten signatures have become almost impossible to obtain when concluding contracts. This begs the question, is it possible to obtain a signature that has the same legal status as the traditional ‘wet ink’ signature? South African law makes provision for three available methods to a signatory when executing a contract: Wet Ink signatures, Electronic signatures and Advanced Electronic signatures. In terms of the common law a ‘wet ink’ signature is […]
28th April 2020
The Legal Position of Landlords and Tenants in Retail Lease Agreements The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the promulgation of restrictive regulations as provided for by the Disaster Management Act, 57 of 2002 (“the Act“). These regulations include the Department of Trade and Industry’s COVID-19 Block Exemption for the Retail Property Sector, 2020. Among these restrictions is the pronouncement of a national lock down. In certain cases, these restrictions may make the performance of a contractual obligation ‘impossible’. This article will specifically examine how this has affected the obligations arising […]
17th April 2020
Is a Life Policy something you should have? Having a Life Policy and having a Will generally go hand in hand, but it’s difficult to keep track of the pro’s and con’s of all of the options! While our office can draft your Will and advise you on your Estate Planning options, we decided to get some answers from someone who knows about Life Policies to help make that decision a bit easier for you. Tenille Viviers, a Certified Financial Planner, from Pagdens Financial Services answered a few questions for […]
19th March 2020
How does an accurate Valuation affect your Property Sale? One of the most important decisions when selling your home is making sure that you obtain an accurate property valuation. What your property is worth to you doesn’t always line up with its market value. It is difficult to put special family memories and emotions aside to objectively value your own home when the time comes. As home sellers who do not have experience in the property industry and specifically in property valuation, there is also a lot you probably won’t […]
27th January 2020
Employment status of you Uber Driver Uber is one of the fastest growing brands in the world and it is difficult to remember a time when you could not simply log onto the App on your phone and request a friendly Uber driver to collect you from your current location and take you to where you need to be, at virtually any time of the day. However, how many of us stop and think about the legal status is of those Uber drivers and what labour laws protect them? Around […]
15th January 2020
The importance of a written Employment Contract It is important that the status of an employee be established from the beginning of the employment relationship – permanent, fixed term, temporary, and so on. Section 129 of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (“BCEA”) provides for certain written particulars of employment to be provided as a minimum, and every employer is legally obliged to provide all employees with these minimum particulars in writing not later than the first day of employment. This minimum requirement, however, is not sufficient. Employers […]
2nd December 2019
Steps to take at the Municipality when your property transfer registers. So you’ve received the exciting news that your property transfer has registered, but now you have to figure out the municipal account change-over. It’s not that complicated if you know what to expect and what steps to take. This article looks at the process in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. It is important to remember that each municipality may work differently and this process may change from time to time. When you have purchased a property and […]
26th November 2019
ANIMALS AND THE LAW Animal cruelty is rife in our country and is exacerbated by factors such as economic hardship, a lack of funding, inappropriate laws protecting our animals and insufficient law enforcement mechanisms. The National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (the NSPCA) is a statutory body established with the purpose of preventing the ill-treatment of animals. The Animals Protection Act, enacted in 1962 (the Act) and last amended more than 20 years ago, lists numerous offences in relation to animals. Offences include the ill-treatment […]
31st October 2019
Do you have a valid will? It is vital to make sure that you have a valid will. Sometimes people choose to draw up their own will or they feel the need to put a will in place in a hurry and don’t have time to get to a professional. If you are in this position, it is important to ensure that your DIY will meets all of the requirements set out in the Wills Act for a valid will. If your will does not meet the required formalities, your will […]