17th July 2020
Is it time to get a will? As we find ourselves in unprecedented times, the Covid-19 pandemic has many people worried about their health- and their death. As the pandemic starts to reach its peak, the demand for wills has increased as citizens are being compelled to start getting their affairs in order. Most of us spend our lives working hard to build up our estate and want to enjoy the benefits of our labour. It therefore seems foolish to undo all that hard work by not having a unique […]
10th July 2020
The importance of a Ratification Clause in a Property Sale Agreement A Ratification Clause allows a seller to continue marketing their property after receiving an offer and to accept a second offer if certain requirements are met and the required notice is given to the purchaser who made the first offer. Ratification Clauses come into play when a sale agreement contains suspensive conditions. What is a Suspensive Condition? A condition which suspends the operation of an agreement of sale until the specific condition contained in the agreement has been complied […]
25th May 2020
TRAVELLING TO A FUNERAL DURING COVID-19 LOCKDOWN? HERE’S WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW On April 2, 2020 Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, gazetted further amendments to the regulations governing the travel of persons to and from funerals under the Coronavirus-enforced lockdown. The amendments allow certain individuals to move between provinces, metropolitan and district areas for the purposes of transporting a body for burial purposes. The amendment also specifies the individuals who are permitted to travel to funerals. Attendance at a funeral or cremation is limited to […]
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 […]