Case Law[2024] ZAGPJHC 716South Africa
Dayal Consulting (Pty) Ltd v Unlawful Occupiers Of Unit 9 Mont Blanc Heights and Others (2023/014169) [2024] ZAGPJHC 716 (7 August 2024)
High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Johannesburg)
7 August 2024
Headnotes
at Mont Blanc. The said properties relate to two of the 17 units in the Sectional Title Scheme known as Mont Blanc Heights namely units which were auctioned off by the liquidators of Rapiprop 149 Pty Ltd (in liquidation) ('Rapiprop") at Johannesburg.
Judgment
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## Dayal Consulting (Pty) Ltd v Unlawful Occupiers Of Unit 9 Mont Blanc Heights and Others (2023/014169) [2024] ZAGPJHC 716 (7 August 2024)
Dayal Consulting (Pty) Ltd v Unlawful Occupiers Of Unit 9 Mont Blanc Heights and Others (2023/014169) [2024] ZAGPJHC 716 (7 August 2024)
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sino date 7 August 2024
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
GAUTENG
DIVISION, JOHANNESBURG
Case
Number: 2023-014169
1.
REPORTABLE:YES/NO
2.
OF INTEREST TO OTHER JUDGES:YES/NO
3.
REVISED: YES/NO
7
August 2024
In
the application between:
DAYAL
CONSULTING (PTY) LTD
Applicant
AND
THE
UNLAWFUL OCCUPIERS OF UNIT 9
MONT
BLANC HEIGHTS
First Respondent
THE
UNLAWFUL OCCUPIERS OF UNIT 60
Second Respondent
MONT
BLANC HEIGHTS
RUI
MIGUEL DE FIGUEIREDO N.O.,
Third Respondent
THE
TRUSTEE FOR THE TIME BEING
OF
THE LWWS HOLDING TRUST WITH
REGISTRATION
NUMBER IT3059/04(T)
TANYA
ROCHA N.O.,
THE
TRUSTEE FOR THE TIME BEING
OF
THE LWWS HOLDING TRUST WITH
REGISTRATION
NUMBER IT 3059/04(T)
Fourth Respondent
MARIA
DA CONCICAO DE FREITAS
Fifth Respondent
VASCONCES
N.O., THE TRUSTEE
FOR
THE TIME BEING OF THE LWWS HOLDING
TRUST
WITH REGISTRATION NUMBER
IT
3059/04(T)
MARIO
ALEXANDRE DE FIGUERIEDO ROCHA
Sixth Respondent
REVENUE
ASSET PROTECTION (PTY) LTD
Seventh Respondent
REDLEX
297 (PTY) LTD
Eight Respondent
EKURHULENI
METROPOLITAN
Ninth Respondent
MUNICIPALITY
JUDGMENT
Van
Aswegen AJ
[1]
The Applicant launched an application in terms of the Prevention of
Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land
Act, Act 19 of
1998 (PIE) for the eviction of the respondents and all persons
occupying under or through them, from the
immovable
properties known as Unit 9 and Unit 60 of Mont Blanc Heights -
situate at corner Sovereign and Oxford Streets Bedford
Gardens,
Bedfordview (“the properties”)
[2]
The applicant is the registered owner of the
properties in the sectional title scheme known as
Mont
Blanc Heights registered as such with Title Deed Number
ST277/2007,
and which are currently occupied from time to time by the first to
the
eight respondents.
[3]
The said properties were previously owned by Rapiprop 149 (Pty) Ltd
("Rapiprop") which was placed in final liquidation
on or
about 14
August
2018 (Annexure "FA2")
[1]
.
[4]
On 27 August 2018, the Master of the High Court, Johannesburg
appointed Mr. Cloete Murray, Mr. Tshepo Harry Nonyane and
Mr. Brian
Itumeleng Nakedi of the Sechaba Trust (Annexure "FA3")
[2]
as the joint liquidators of Rapiprop ("the joint liquidators”).
[5]
The
properties referred to in paragraph [1] here in before were to be
sold on public auction and had been advertised in a
general
information pack – Annexure “FA4’ - relating to the
sale of the properties prepared by the auctioneers.
[3]
[6]
Paragraph 6 of the said auctioneer’s Information pack heads
Financial
Information
and
reads as follows:
[4]
“
As
per information received, there is
an
apparent "Head Lease" in place for all 17 units
in terms of a rental pool/hotel type set up. The details of the
income as per this Head Lease have not been provided to the WH
or the
Liquidators.
NOTE:
The units are to be offered for sale as follows:
1.
Units to be sold as one parcel,
subject to any head lease that may exist over the properties.
2.
Units
to be sold as a package, without any lease in place.
3.
Units
to be sold individually, without any leases in place
.
”
(my underlining)
[7]
On 14 March 2019 the Applicant purchased the two properties as
advertised in the aforesaid information pack on an auction
held at
Mont Blanc. The said properties relate to two of the 17 units in the
Sectional Title Scheme known as Mont Blanc Heights
namely units which
were auctioned off by the liquidators of Rapiprop 149 Pty Ltd (in
liquidation) ('Rapiprop") at Johannesburg.
[8]
The
applicant took transfer of the properties on the 9th of October 2020,
and they are now held by Sectional Deeds of Transfer
ST29433/2020
marked as “RT1”
[5]
and
ST29436/2020
marked as “RT2” respectively.
[9]
The respondents admit the ownership of the applicant
[6]
in respect of the properties but plead that the respondents are
entitled to occupy because of long leases which are allegedly in
place.
[10]
It
is apparent that although mentioned was made of an apparent head
lease in place over all 17 units, it was however distinctly
stated
that units individually sold were sold without any leases in place.
Clause 2.6 from the extract from the
conditions
of sale, Annexure A, "
TRANSACTION
DETAILS
",
between the purchasers and the liquidators of Rapiprop marked as
“FA1”
[7]
shows
clearly that the properties were
sold
subject to no lease
.
The wording -
subject
to no lease
– was inserted in writing and subsequently initialled by all
the parties.
[11]
It
is of importance to mention that no long lease had been registered
against the title deeds of the two properties.
[8]
[12]
The applicant as the registered owner of the two
properties in the application before me seeks the lawful possession
of its properties.
THE
APPLICANT’S LOCUS STANDI:
[13]
The onus to prove
locus standi
for the institution
of these proceedings is on the applicant.
[14]
Section 4(1) of PIE provides that:
“
[n]otwithstanding
anything to the contrary contained in any law or the common law, the
provisions of this section apply to proceedings
by an owner or person
in charge of land for the eviction of an unlawful occupier
”.
“
Owner
”,
insofar as is relevant, is defined in PIE as “
the
registered owner of land
”.
[15]
The applicant, is the registered owner of the property as
contemplated in section 1 (the definitions section) of PIE.
The
applicants’
locus standi
is therefore beyond
question.
CONFIRMATION
OF UNITS SOLD SUBJECT TO NO LEASE:
[16]
Confirmation
that the individual units were sold without a lease can be found in a
letter dated 2 November 2021 to the trustees
of LWWS Trust by the
attorneys, Messrs Van der Meer & Schoonbee, representing the
purchaser of another unit, unit number 5,
in Mont Blanc Heights who
stated that the sale of the properties took place subject to no
lease.
[9]
[17]
The aforesaid attorneys also noted that no claim for the LWWS Lease
had ever been formally lodged with the liquidators
of Rapiprop in
accordance with insolvency proceedings, despite the effective date of
liquidation of Rapiprop being 18 June 2018.
Furthermore, the
LWWS Trust did not made any attempt to prove the claim of the LWWS
lease through due process and have not objected
to the Draft
Liquidation and Distribution Account of Rapiprop which disregards
this claim. Accordingly, the said attorneys concluded
that the claim
had no legal standing. This court agrees that the respondents’
failure to:
i)
lodge
their claim with the liquidators since 2018,
ii)
proof their claim and
iii)
object to the Draft Liquidation and
Distribution Account of Rapiprop raises serious doubt over the
existence of the respondents’
claim and the LWWS Head Lease.
[18]
The aforesaid letter also states that the claim of the LWWS lease had
been orchestrated by Mr. Mario Rocha, the ex-director
of Rapiprop and
the sixth respondent in this matter. In respect of Mr. Mario Rocha it
was alleged that:
[18.1]
his business activities at Mont Blanc Heights through Rapiprop had
costed First Rand Bank Limited a loss of over R30
million in addition
to the huge losses to creditors sustained through his other
liquidated entities.
[18.2]
regarding the liquidation proceedings of Rapiprop, Mr. Mario Rocha
had already been found to be:
i)
in contempt of court for failing to submit
the "statement of affairs" (CM100),
ii)
failing to co-operate with the liquidators
and
iii)
failing
to hand over the financial records of the company.
[10]
[18.3]
as an ex-director he had also failed to surrender control of the
assets of Rapiprop to the liquidators in breach of
statutory
obligations and had continued to use such assets for his own direct
or indirect benefit.
[19]
On the 9 December 2021, the Gauteng Rental Tribunal further issued a
Ruling in respect of Unit 5
under
case no RT 624/21. (See; para 47, CaseLines 001-32, attached as FA13
at CL 001-187) in,
inter alia
,
the following terms:
“
Declaring
that the LWWS lease (TAP6)” was invalid as per the prescripts
of the Formalities in Respect of Leases of Land Act,
18 of 1969 (See
Ruling 6)”
[20]
This ruling stand to date, although it has the status of a
magistrate’s court ruling.
[21]
The Trustees of the LWWS Holdings Trust have lodged review
proceedings in this court on or about October 2022. It is
trite that
review proceedings relate to irregular processes and that a review is
not a bar to this PIE application.
[22]
On 21 November 2023 De Beer AJ in case number 2022/23317 evicted the
unlawful occupants from unit 5 in Mont Blanc Heights
and
interdicted and restrained the occupants from entering and occupying
unit 5 pursuant to them having vacated the said unit.
[23]
De Beer AJ pronounced judgment in the said matter on the basis that
it was clear that the property was subject to no
lease. He
adjudicated the matter on the concept of knowledge in terms of
Section 1(2)(b) of the Formalities in respect of Leases
of Land Act,
18 of 1969. The Court concluded that the applicable respondents did
not discharge the onus of proving knowledge as
required by the
aforesaid Act.
[24]
The respondents subsequently applied for leave to appeal which the
court dismissed.
[25]
Unit 5 was also sold on the public auction as was units 9 and 60 Mont
Blanc Heights – the properties in the matter
currently before
me. De Beer AJ indicated that the long lease was not registered
against the title deed of unit 5 and that the
respondents, who were
the applicants in the leave to appeal application, had failed to
discharge the onus of satisfying the court
that the owner of unit 5
had actual knowledge of the long lease. The Applicants wanted he said
to create a dispute of fact where
there was none. The information
pack in respect of the auction of unit 5 was overridden the court
found by clause 2.6 of the sale
agreement which stipulated that the
unit was sold
subject to no lease.
The information pack also
specifically stated that units sold individually would be sold
without any lease in place. For the principle
huur gaat voor koop
to apply the applicants had to first establish knowledge of the long
lease – which the applicants failed to do.
[26]
De Beer AJ had to determine precisely the same issue as in the matter
currently before me, namely whether there was actual
knowledge of the
long lease in the absence of registration against the title deed in
terms of section 1(2) of the Formalities in
respect of Leases of Land
Act, Act 18 of 1969 (“the Act”).
[27]
In
Bloemfontein Town Council v Richter
the Appellate Division
said the following about
stare decisis (“to stand by things
decided”)
:
"
The
ordinary rule is that this Court is bound by its own decisions and
unless a decision has been arrived at on some manifest oversight
or
misunderstanding, that is there has been something in the nature of a
palpable mistake, a subsequently constituted Court has
no right to
prefer its own reasoning to that of its predecessors - such
preference, if allowed, would produce endless uncertainty
and
confusion. The maxim 'stare decisis' should, therefore, be more
rigidly applied in this the Highest Court in the land, than
in all
others”.
[11]
[28]
Despite this court’s previous ruling as aforesaid, namely that
the sale of the properties took place without any
leases, which I
take cognisance of, I will in detail ventilate all the issues which
came before me.
[29]
I commence with a discussion of the applicant’s control of the
properties.
USE
OF THE PROPERTIES:
[30]
The applicant is unable as owner of the properties, to gain and
control the properties, it alleges, for the following
reasons:
[30.1]
the properties are situated within a block of flats with a single
entrance to the building.
[30.2]
the building is guarded by a security company apparently in the
control of the previous director of Rapiprop who refuses
and/or
removes any representative of the applicant who attempts to take
possession of the property.
[30.3]
The respondents, save for the sixth and eight respondents are in
occupation of the properties.
[31]
The applicant initially instituted an application for the eviction of
the unlawful occupiers in the Germiston Magistrates
Court which
application was withdrawn.
[32]
During the litigation in the Germiston Court, one Ms. Tanya Du Preez
("Ms. Du Preez" now Rocha), the fourth
respondent in the
matter before me, apparently acting on behalf of the LWWS Trust
deposed to an affidavit to intervene in the eviction
application.
[33]
Ms. Du Preez
alleged
that a lease agreement had been concluded between Rapiprop and the
LWWS Trust at Johannesburg on 15 November 2009 (“the
Head
Lease”).
[12]
[34]
The material, tacit and/or implied terms of the
Head Lease were allegedly as follows:
[34.1]
The trust was the lessee and Rapiprop was the lessor.
[34.2]
The property description was ERF 60 Bedford Gardens with sectional
title scheme, namely section 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10,
11, 12, 15, 34,
35, 56, 57, 58, 60 and 22, 25, 50 and
55
(Unit number 002, 004, 005, 006, 101, 103, 104, 105, 106, 203, 504,
505, 902, 903, 904, 906, 802, 304, 401, 901) of the scheme
SS227/2007
,
together with all improvements thereon including fixtures, furniture
and fittings, which shall include the right to the exclusive
use
areas and the undivided share in the common property in the scheme
apportioned to these sections in accordance with the Participation
Quota as endorsed on the sectional title plan, and the right to the
sue of exclusive use of the exclusive use areas apportioned
to the
sections. The trust would have the right to recover all the operating
costs, levies, rates, consumables and any other costs
arising from
the operation of the enterprise from the current tenants and future
tenants ("the premises").
[34.3]
The head lease would commence on 1 December 2009 ("the
commencement date") and would endure until 31 December
2060. The
trust would be entitled to a beneficial occupation period for 24
(twenty-four) months reckoned from 1 December 2009 to
30 November
2011, which period would be rent free as because of the exclusion of
tenant allowances in favour of the trust (clause
2.1).
[34.4]
Notwithstanding clause 2.1 mentioned here in before, the trust would
have the option to renew the head lease for a
further period of 30
years, if it gave Rapiprop notice in writing of its intention to so
exercise its option, at least two calendar
months prior to the expiry
of the fifty-year period (clause 2.2).
[34.5]
The monthly rental payable by the trust to Rapiprop would be an
amount of R142 000.00 (one hundred and forty-two thousand
Rand) per
month furnished by the trust (clause 3.1).
[34.6]
The trust would utilize the properties only for office purposes
(clause 5.1).
[34.7]
The trust would comply strictly with and would not permit the
contravention of (clause 5.2):
[34.7.1]
the provisions of any statue, law, ordinance by-law or regulations
(clause 5.2.1).
[34.7.2]
the provisions of any conduct rule, house rule or constitution of any
sectional title scheme as
may be
applicable to the properties, or to the occupation thereof (clause
5.2.2).
[34.8]
The trust would have the right to sublet, cede, transfer, or assign
the head lease and the various terms and options,
right of first
refusal and the deemed offer of this agreement to a third party
without having to give notice to Rapiprop. The cession
is exclusive
and irrevocable to the trust and binding on all parties (clause 9).
[34.9]
Should the trust fail to make payment of any rental or other amount
payable to Rapiprop in terms of the head lease
on due date, Rapiprop
would be entitled without prejudice to its rights to charge interest
on such amounts at a rate of 1% above
the prime lending rate from
time to time of the Standard Bank of South Africa Limited, however
Rapiprop, undersigned and their
respective heirs executives,
administrators, successors, transferees, assignees, agents, financial
institutions and attorneys
will have no right to cancel the lease
and/or head lease or any parts thereof
(clause 10.2). (my
underlining)
[34.10]
The trust would at any time during the currency of the head lease
have the unfettered right to convert the head lease
into a Head Lease
in respect of the entire property
as
contemplated in Appendix 1 (clause 13.1).
APPENDIX
1
[34.11]
Rapiprop, in its capacity as the Head Lessor, granted to the trust,
an exclusive and irrevocable option, which option
may be exercised by
the trust at any time during the duration of the lease term to enter
a new lease as
head lessee over the
entire extent of the properties for the period of 50 years commencing
on the date on which the
option is
exercised (clause 1.1).
[34.12]
The trust wished to exercise its rights under the option with
immediate effect on signature date of 15 November 2009.
(clause
2.1).
[35]
Ms. Du Preez
alleged that the head lease is
a long lease subject to Section 1(2) of the formalities in respect of
Leases of Land Act 18 of 1969
(“the Act”). It was however
not alleged that the head lease had been registered as required in
terms of section 1(2)
(a) of the Act.
[36]
Section 1(2) of the Act states the following:
“
(2)
No lease of land which is entered into for a period of not less than
ten years or for the natural life of the lessee or any
other person
mentioned in the lease, or which is renewable from time to time at
the will of the lessee indefinitely or for periods
which together
with the first period of the lease amount in all to not less than ten
years, shall, if such lease be entered into
after the commencement of
this Act, be valid against a creditor or successor under onerous
title of the lessor for a period longer
than ten years after having
been entered into, unless-
(a)
it has been registered against the title deeds of the leased
land;
or
(b)
the aforesaid creditor or successor at the time of the giving
of credit or the entry into the transaction by which he obtained the
leased land or a portion thereof or obtained a real right in respect
thereof, as the case may be, knew of the lease.”
[37]
The head lease if not registered against the title deed of the land
is therefore invalid unless the applicant, when acquiring
the
properties, knew of the long lease.
[38]
Ms. Du Preez also referred to
an
additional written lease titled “
Agreement
of Lease Incorporating a Head Lease
”
with Revenue Asset Protection Services (Pty) Ltd (“RAPS”)
the seventh respondent at Johannesburg on the 1st
of December 2015
(“the RAPS Lease”)
[13]
[39]
The material, express, tacit, and/or implied terms
of the RAPS lease were the following:
[39.1]
RAPS hired from the LWWS trust, the property described in the RAPS
lease on the terms and conditions set out in the
Schedule and General
Terms and Conditions of the RAPS lease as per the property
description ERF 60 Bedford Gardens with sectional
title scheme,
namely section 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 34, 35, 56, 57, 58,
60 and 22, 25, 50 and 55 (Unit number 002, 004,
005, 006, 101, 103,
104, 105, 106, 203, 504, 505, 902, 903, 904, 906, 802, 304, 401, 901)
of the scheme
SS227/2007
, together with all improvements
thereon including fixtures, furniture and fittings, which shall
include the right to the exclusive
use areas and the undivided share
in the common property in the scheme apportioned to these sections in
accordance with the Participation
Quota as endorsed on the sectional
title plan, and the right to the sue of exclusive use of the
exclusive use areas apportioned
to the sections. RAPS would have the
right to recover all the operating costs, levies, rates, consumables
and any other costs arising
from the operation of the enterprise from
the current tenants and future tenants ("the premises")
(page 1).
[39.2]
The RAPS lease would commence on 1 December 2015 ("the
commencement date") and would endure until 31 December
2022
("the initial period"). RAPS would be entitled to a
beneficial occupation period of 24 (twenty-four months reckoned
from
1 December 2015 until 31 December 2017, which period would be rent
free because of the execution of the tenant allowances
in favour of
RAPS (clause 2.1).
[39.3]
Notwithstanding clause 2.1, RAPS would have the option to renew the
RAPS lease for a further period of 30 years, if
it gives the trust
notice in writing of its intention to so exercise its option, at
least two calendar months prior to the expiry
of the fifty-year
period. Should RAPS exercise its option as provided for in the RAPS
lease, then the RAPS lease would be renewed
on the same terms and
conditions save that the monthly rental payable by RAPS to the trust
would be an amount equivalent to that
payable in the final month of
the initial period, escalated by 6% and save that such monthly rental
would thereafter escalate on
the anniversary date by 6% per annum
(clause 2.2).
[39.4]
The monthly rental payable by RAPS to the
trust would be an amount of R1 000.00 per month fully furnished by
the
trust in lieu of security
services provided on all the
properties
and the monthly rental collection from all the other properties as
(clause 3.1).
[39.5]
The trust would be, in addition to the monthly rental
payable to it by RAPS, liable to pay for all the
electricity, water, gas, refuse removal, sewerage of other such
services supplied
to, or consumed on the premises (as defined in the
RAPS lease), any increase in the rates and taxes levied in respect of
the premises
(clause 4.1) (my underlining)
[40]
The scheme number of Mont Blanc Heights is SS277/2007 and not
SS227/2007 as depicted in both the LWWS Lease and
the RAPS lease.
[41]
The RAPS Lease is also subject to section 1(2)
of
the formalities of the Act.
[42]
The RAPS lease was also not registered in terms of section
1(2)(a)/(b) of the Act.
[43]
Ms. Du Preez did however not mention that another "head lease"
had allegedly been concluded, namely Annexure
"FA8".
[14]
[44]
In terms of “FA8”, Rapiprop duly represented by Mr. Mario
Rocha, the sixth Respondent, entered into a written
agreement on 20
September 2017 with Redlex 297 (Pty) Ltd
duly
represented by Mr. Junaid Ali - titled the Agreement of Lease (Head
Lease) ("the second head lease").
[45]
The material terms of the second head lease were as follows:
[45.1]
Redlex hired from Rapiprop the premises described in the second lease
on the terms and conditions set out in the schedule
and general terms
and conditions of the second lease as per the property description
ERF 60 Bedford Gardens with sectional title
scheme, namely section 5,
6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 34, 35, 56, 57, 58, 60 and 22,: 50 and 55
(Unit number 002, 004, 005, 006, 101,
103, 104, 105, 106, 203, 504,
505, 902, 903, 904, 906, 802, 304, 401, 901) of the scheme
SS227/2007
, together with all improvements thereon including
fixtures, furniture and fittings, which shall include the right to
the exclusive
use areas and the undivided share in the common
property in the scheme apportioned to these sections in accordance
with the Participation
Quota as endorsed on the sectional title plan,
and the right to the sue of exclusive use of the exclusive use areas
apportioned
to the sections. Redlex would have the right to recover
all the operating costs, levies, rates, consumables and any other
costs
arising from the operation of the enterprise from the current
tenants and future tenants (first paragraph on page 2).
[45.2]
The initial period of the lease would be 10 years, commencing October
2017 and ending November 2027
(clause
2 of the schedule).
[45.3]
Rapiprop lets the premises to the Redlex who hired the
premises, subject to the terms and conditions set
out in the second lease. Redlex would only be required to pay a
minimum lease
fee of R20 000.00 during the first 24 months of the
second lease to recover all upfront costs incurred by the Redlex in
establishing
the rental pool, i.e. furniture, staff contract costs,
rental pool launch and marking costs etc. as agreed with
Rapiprop.
Thereafter Redlex will pay
a minimum of R40 000.00 per
month.
Redlex would take on all risk related to vacancies
of
the units in the rental pool and would irrespective be
obliged
to pay the minimum amount mentioned above.
Thereafter,
Redlex would pay over all the rental received monthly, within 30 days
of receiving the said rental to Rapiprop after
deducting for its
minimum head lease fee of
10% of
rental turnover (clause 2).
[46]
It is also interesting to note that comparable to the LWWS Lease and
Redlex Lease the scheme number of Mont Blanc Heights
is SS277/2007
and not SS227/2007 as defined in the second head lease.
[47]
By the same token:
[47.1]
The second head lease is subject to section 1(2) of the formalities
of the Act.
[47.2]
It was not alleged that the second head lease was registered in terms
of section 1(2)(a)/(b) of the Act.
[48]
It is accordingly the Respondents’ case, as set out by Ms. Du
Preez, who
asserts
her authority to do so based on a resolution signed by the trustees
of the LWWS Holdings Trust
[15]
dated 19 October 2020, that the LWWS Trust holds a “
Poison
Pill
”
Head Lease over the disputed properties, which grants it substantial
rights, including the right of first refusal and a
deemed offer, both
of which were exercised at the time of the lease’s conclusion.
The Respondents contend that the
Poison
Pill
”
Head Lease is still of force and effect in respect of the entire
building, including the subject matter of this application.
The
aforesaid Head Lease has not been cancelled and is furthermore not
capable of cancellation without a penalty fee.
[49]
Insofar as the
Poison
Pill
” Head Lease is concerned Ms.
Du Preez alleges that the LWWS Holdings Trust therefore have rights
over the disputed properties.
She challenges the basis for the
eviction application arguing that it fails to take into consideration
the existence and implications
of the “
Poison
Pill
” Head Lease. Reliance
is placed on “
huur gaat voor koop
”
in that the LWWS Holding Trust’s “
Poison
Pill
” Head Lease precedes the
sale of the properties. The Head Lease it is alleged trumps the real
rights of the applicant as
the registered owner armed with the title
deeds.
[50]
The signatories to the “
Poison
Pill
”
Head Lease
[16]
were Ms. Du
Preez and her spouse - the sixth respondent. The sixth respondent and
a Mr. Jorge Martins were the former directors
of Rapiprop. The RAPS
sub-lease was signed by Ms. Du Preez and a Mr. David Safi.
[51]
The LWWS Holding Trust and/or occupants of the units are according to
the Respondents in lawful possession of the property,
based upon the
"Poison Pill" Head Lease and sub-lease which are in place.
Ms. Du Preez states that the LWWS Holdings
Trust’s "Poison
Pill" Head Lease gives the respondents a real right over the
property.
[52]
The Applicant however disputes the validity of the so-called “
Poison
Pill
” Head Lease and related leases and argues that they
are all contrived agreements to perpetuate occupation of the property
unlawfully and defy the liquidation order of Rapiprop.
[53]
The Respondents furthermore allege misconduct by the liquidators
responsible for selling the properties, including claims
of unlawful,
irregular and unconstitutional actions as determined by a public
protector’s report and subsequent investigations
including an
investigation in terms of section 381(1) of the Companies Act 61 of
1971.
[54]
It is abundantly clear that the "Poison Pill" Head Lease
and sub-lease were not registered against the deeds
of the property.
The said lease and sub-lease are however subject to the formalities
of section 1(2) of the Act. If there was no
registration against the
title deeds the respondents had to show that the Applicant had
knowledge of these leases at the time of
acquiring the properties.
[55]
Despite the respondents having alleged that all these leases existed
and created rights for them, Mr. Rocha,
a
director of both Rapiprop and Redlex and the sixth respondent
apparently, having some right to the property in the liquidated
estate in terms of "the leases", refused and/or neglected
and/or failed to co-operate with the joint liquidators and
handover
financial records needed (Page 2 of the Second and General Meeting of
Creditors' report, Annexure "FA9").
[17]
[56]
If these leases were legitimate, the sixth
respondent would most surely:
[56.1]
have provided these leases to the joint liquidators and/or
[56.2]
registered a claim in the estate. No such claim exists as can be seen
from the schedule of claims (Annexure
"FA10")
[18]
[56.3]
have made the applicant or even the WH auctioneers aware of the
leases.
[56.4]
have records reflecting payments of the leases in the accounts of
Rapiprop or rental payments made to the joint liquidators
of Rapiprop
by Redlex at least in terms of
the second
lease or even have showed the 15 years of financial statements which
reflected a loan account.
[57]
The two head leases and the RAPS lease also, as indicated herein
before, all depict the sectional title scheme number
as SS227/2007
instead of ST277/2007.
[58]
Rapiprop
had leased the properties to the
LWWS trust and to Redlex. If indeed the Head lease was a legitimate
arm's length transaction Rapiprop
could not and would not have leased
the properties to Redlex as the Head lease could not be
cancelled in terms of clause 10.2 of the Poison
Pill Lease. Clause 10.2 reads as follows:
“
10.2
Should the Tenant fail to make payment of
any rental or other amount payable to the Landlord in terms of this
lease on due date,
the Landlord shall be entitled without prejudice
to its rights, to charge interest on such amounts at a rate of 1%
above the prime
lending rate from time to time of the Standard Bank
of South Africa Limited, however the Landlord, undersigned and their
respective
heirs, executors, administrators successors, transferees,
assignees, agents, financial institutions and attorneys
will
have no right to cancel the lease
and/or Head Lease or any parts of this agreement.”
[59]
The Poison Pill, the RAPS and Redlex leases were furthermore all not
registered in terms of section 2(1) of the Act.
[60]
The applicant in addition argued that if the court considered the
Poison Pill lease to be valid that the liquidators
in terms of
Section 37(2)
of the
Insolvency Act 24 of 1936
read with Section 339 of the Companies Act 61 of 1973, in turn read
with item 9(5) of the
Companies Act 71 of 2008
, deemed to have
repudiated the head lease and accordingly the RAPS lease also then
has no force or effect.
[61]
In terms of
section 37(2)
of the
Insolvency Act i
t
is for the
liquidator
,
to notify the lessor, within three months of its appointment “
that
[they] desire to continue the lease on behalf of the estate
”,
otherwise “
[they]
shall be deemed to have determined the lease at the end of such three
months.”
DOCTRINE
OF ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE OF A LONG LEASE:
[62]
The question to be answered in the absence of registration against
the title deeds of the properties, to give validity
to the leases, is
whether the applicant at the time of purchasing the properties knew
of the long leases.
[63]
Although reference is made of an apparent head lease, the information
pack refers to the sale of individual units with
no lease -
Units
to be sold individually, without any leases in place
.
”
(my underlining)
[64]
Clause
2.6
from
the extract from the
conditions
of sale, "TRANSACTION DETAILS", between the purchasers and
the liquidators of Rapiprop marked as “FA1”
[19]
depicts in writing clearly that the properties were
sold
subject to no lease
.
[65]
The
attorneys, Messrs Van der Meer & Schoonbee, representing the
purchaser of another unit, namely unit 5 in Mont Blanc Heights
also
wrote a letter dated 2 November 2021 to the trustees of LWWS Trust
confirming that the sale of the properties took place subject
to no
lease.
[20]
[66]
The aforesaid attorneys also noted that no claim
for the Poison Pill lease has ever been formally lodged with the
liquidators of
Rapiprop in accordance with insolvency proceedings
despite the effective date of liquidation of Rapiprop being 18 June
2018. Furthermore,
LWWS Trust did not made any attempt to prove the
claim of the LWWS lease through due process and have not objected to
the draft
Liquidation and Distribution Account of Rapiprop which
disregards this claim. Accordingly, they concluded that the claim had
no
legal standing.
[67]
The letter also states that the claim of the LWWS lease had been
orchestrated by Mr. Mario Rocha, the ex-director of
Rapiprop.
[68]
Knowledge of a lease is insufficient. The respondents must prove that
the applicant had knowledge of a long lease which
would have endured
until 2060 with a further option of 30 years of renewal.
[69]
The respondents
must prove actual knowledge
by the applicant of a long lease. Reference to a head lease in an
auction pack and leases in the condition
of sale is not sufficient to
establish actual knowledge. It does not persuade the court that the
respondent had factual knowledge
of a purported long lease until
2060. More so even considering:
[69.1]
the information pack which indicated that individual units will be
sold with no lease and
[69.2]
clause 2.6 of Annexure A to the terms of the sale of the properties
which specifically inserts in writing that the
sale is with no leases
and is confirmed by the parties initialing the insert.
[70]
Clause 10.2
[21]
of the Head
Lease between Rapiprop and LWWS Trust is indicative of the
illogicality of the said lease, where it states that the
lessor will
have no right to cancel the lease agreement. This clause is clearly
designed to procure occupation in perpetuity at
the expense of the
creditors and
the
bona fide
purchaser. The said clause states:
“
Should
the Tenant fail make payment of any rental or other amount payable to
the Landlord in terms of this lease on due date, the
Landlord shall
be entitled without prejudice to its rights, to charge interest on
such amounts at a rate of 1% above the prime
lending rate from time
to time of the Standard Bank of South Africa Limited, however the
Landlord undersigned and their respective
heirs, executors,
administrators, successors, transferees, assignees, agents, financial
institutions and attorneys
will
have no right to cancel the lease and/or Head Lease or any parts of
this agreement
”
[71]
The respondents had to establish a real
right over the properties. This I find the respondents failed to do
as:
i)
a long lease was not registered against the
title deeds and
ii)
actual knowledge at the time of acquiring
the property was not established.
[72]
No reasonable man and/or reasonable investor would purchase
properties at an insolvency auction sale subject to a lease
to 2060
with an option to renew until 2090 with an entrenched no-cancellation
clause. The version is implausible and any argument
of a
prima
facie
case on the respondents' behalf cannot be sustained.
[73]
The respondents furthermore failed to produce one item of evidence or
a corroborating document to show that the LWWS
lease ever came into
effect. Such evidence could also have strengthened the doctrine of
knowledge. To the contrary, the absence
of any banking records,
rental payments and third-party acknowledgement since 2009 leads to
the unavoidable conclusion that the
lease was created post-fact to
prejudice the creditors of Rapiprop. In addition, the fact that
the respondents never lodged
a claim against the estate of Rapiprop
and that no objection was ever raised against the draft liquidation
and distribution account
add to the suspicion of a fabricated long
lease.
[74]
The respondents also make the irrational statement that the
applicants are not suffering financial prejudice in the current
circumstances, notwithstanding that the applicant has received no
rental, levies or consumptions charges from any party since transfer
in October 2020. The applicant seeks possession of the properties. If
possession is given to the applicant the respondents are
not without
remedy. Their purported claim will lie against their landlord and not
against the
bona fide
purchaser.
[75]
I can come to no other finding as that the respondents did not proof
actual knowledge of the existence of the LWWS Long
lease. It is
patently clear that even though the information pack referred to an
apparent head lease the units were sold:
i)
individually without any leases in place
and
ii)
with the written inclusion in clause 2.6 in
the sales agreement of the words “
subject
to no lease
”.
[76]
I will now discuss the status of the LWWS lease as well as the
subsequent RAPS sub-lease.
INVALIDITY
OF LWWS LEASE:
[77]
The founding deed of trust of the LWWS Holdings Trust dated
2004, the first page of which is attached – “RA15”
cited certain Messrs. Wurdeman and Pereira as the first incumbent
trustees.
[22]
[78]
The Letters of Authority dated 2004 follows in favour of the first
incumbent trustees – Mr. Wurdeman and Mr. Pereira,
a copy
thereof is Annexure RA16.
[23]
[79]
A "Resolution" of the incumbent trustees of the LWWS
Holdings Trust, Mr. Wurdeman and Mr. Pereira, dated 15
September 2009
purportedly gives Ms. Tanya Rocha, the fourth respondent, authority
to act as agent for Mr. Wurdeman only.
This resolution is
annexure “RA18”. ("the Wurdeman resolution")
[24]
[80]
The Letters of Authority dated 23 May 2012 appointing Mr. Mario
Rocha, the sixth respondent, Ms. Tanya Rocha, the fourth
respondent
and Ms. Maria Vasconcelos as replacement trustees to Mr. Wurdeman and
Mr. Pereira, is annexure “RA17”.
[25]
[81]
The LWWS Holdings Lease (TAP6) lease was signed on 15 November 2009
by Mr. Mario Rocha – the sixth respondent,
as a then director
of Rapiprop 149 (Pty) Ltd ("the landlord") and Ms. Tanya Du
Preez (now Rocha), the fourth respondent,
who then gave herself out
as a "trustee" of the LWWS Holdings Trust ("the
tenant").
However, Ms. Tanya
Rocha only became a trustee of the LWWS Holdings Trust in May 2012,
some three years after she signed the Poison
Pill Lease.
[82]
The Trust Property Control Act, Act 57 of 1988 stipulates that a
Trustee means any person who
acts as
Trustee by virtue of an authorization under Section 6 thereof and
includes any person whose appointment as Trustee is already
of force
and effect on the commencement of this Act.
[83]
Section 6(1) of the aforesaid act deals with the authorisations of
Trustees which stipulates
that:
"(1)
any person whose appointment as Trustee in terms of a Trust
instrument, .shall act in that capacity if only authorised
thereto on
writing by the Master.
(2)
.....
”
[84]
The words "
shall
....
only
"
are peremptory indicating an unambiguous prohibition on acting as
a
Trustee until authorised thereto in writing by the Master.
[26]
[85]
An act of signing and concluding the TAP6 lease prior to the receipt
of the written authority by the Master cannot be
resuscitated by
subsequent ratification either by the Master or by the Trustee after
receipt of the necessary authority as "there
can be no
ratification of an agreement which a statutory prohibition has
rendered
ab
initio void
in the sense that it is to be regarded as never having been
concluded.
[27]
[86]
Upon a scrutiny of the Wurdeman resolution it becomes clear that Mr.
Roberto Ivano Montano Wurdeman and Mr. Leonardo
Araujo Pereira were
the duly appointed Trustees of the LWWS HOLDINGS TRUST during 2009.
There is no evidence of a Letter of Authority
in the name of Ms.
Tanya Rocha in 2009. The fourth respondent only became a trustee in
2012.
[87]
Upon a further reading of the Wurdeman resolution it is clear that
only Mr. Wurdeman, in his personal capacity, nominated
constituted
and appointed the fourth respondent, as an agent to act on his behalf
with the power of attorney to be his lawful agent
in his name, place
and stead to attend and generally act on his behalf at all meetings,
all administrative functions, all contractual
agreements on his
behalf in respect of such powers as vested in him as a trustee. Mr.
Pereira did not grant the fourth respondent
any authorization at all.
The resolution is accordingly not one that can bind the LWWS Trust.
[88]
Furthermore, contrary to Section 6(1), Mr. Wurdeman stipulated that
all contractual agreements could only be carried
out throughout the
period whilst the Letter of Authority in the Master's Office is
awaiting issue. This is in clear prohibition
of the Act which renders
the purported resolution null and void.
[89]
The resolution is invalid since the fourth respondent was appointed
as Mr. Wurdeman's agent and not as a Trustee as required
by the Trust
Property Control Act. Yet, Ms. Tanya Rocha appended her signature as
Trustee on the lease. She thereby purported
to hold out to the
general public that she held the office of Trustee whereas in truth
she was not a Trustee of the LWWS HOLDINGS
TRUST, but the agent of
Mr. Wurdeman at the time in 2009.
[90]
Ms. Tanya Rocha does not refer to her agency in her signing of the
Poison Lease, nor does she attach a copy of her written
authorisation
as prescribed in the
Alienation of Land Act, 1981
. She signs as a
"trustee". This is not correct in law.
[91]
Mr. Wurdeman, as a trustee appointed in terms of the Trust Property
Control Act, could not legally delegate his statutory
appointment and
function to an agent in general terms.
[28]
[92]
To exacerbate the matter further there is no requisite resolution
which authorized signature and the conclusion of the
purported LWWS
Holdings Trust lease in 2009.
[93]
On this basis the LWWS Head Lease is invalid.
[94]
Ms. Tanya Rocha accordingly had no authority to bind the LWWS
Holdings Trust at that time. The LWWS lease could thus
not have been
validly concluded in 2009, as the respondents purport to rely on it.
It follows that the RAPS lease is a nullity
leaving the respondents
completely stripped of a bona fide defence in law. No one can give
rights which he himself does not have.
[95]
It is submitted that the purported claim relying on the LWWS Holdings
Trust lease was being orchestrated by the fourth
and the sixth
respondents when the poison pill lease was
purportedly
concluded without the ostensible or real authority of all the
trustees of the
LWWS Holding Trust as
is required by law.
[96]
The respondents’ reliance upon the LWWS Head Lease of 2009 and
the
huur gaat voor koop
doctrine
namely that the LWWS lease of 2009 trumps the real rights of that of
the Applicant as the registered
owner
armed with the title deeds, is therefore without merit.
[97]
It follows that there can be no lawful argument to accept any defence
based on the LWWS Head Lease or the RAPS lease
raised by the
respondents in this matter over and above that the properties were
purchased subject to no leases.
[98]
In case number 50235/2021
[29]
a matter between the said liquidators and Mr. Mario Rocha and the
occupier of unit 55 of Mont Blanc Heights, being Mr. Jorge Martin,
the following orders were made:
6.
"It
is declared that allegations of theft, fraud, racketeering,
collusion, corruption, racism and fronting and/or conduct associated
therewith, of and concerning the applicants (the liquidators) and/or
their attorneys are defamatory of the applicants and/or their
attorneys, and unlawful."
7.
7.1
The first respondent (Mario
Rocha) and any other party acting on his instruction or on his
behalf, is interdicted and restrained
from the following conduct:
writing or distributing any correspondence, of any nature whatsoever,
and to the recipient whatsoever,
in which the applicants are either
directly or indirectly accused of, inter alia, theft, fraud,
racketeering, collusion, corruption,
racism and fronting and/or any
conduct associated therewith.”
[99]
It is further alleged by the respondents that the so-called untoward
conduct of the liquidators has been reported by
Mr. Mario Rocha to
the Masters Office Court, Pretoria to appoint an investigation in
terms of
Section 381
of the
Companies Act.
[100
]
Mr. Mario Rocha is not a creditor of Rapiprop and has no standing to
request a
Section 381
enquiry.
Five
years have elapsed since the appointment of the liquidators and over
four years since the sale of Rapiprop's units by the liquidators.
The
First and Final Liquidation, Distribution and Contribution Account of
Rapiprop was published in 2021 and no objection thereto
was filed of
record.
[101]
The email from the late liquidator Mr. Murray Cloete confirms that no
Section 381
proceedings exist.
[30]
EVICTIONS
IN TERMS OF PIE:
[102]
It is abundantly clear that the Applicant seeks eviction based upon
the rei vindication.
[103]
The question for consideration is whether the respondents are
unlawful occupiers in terms of
section 4(1)
of PIE in other
words, persons “
who occup[y] land without the express or
tacit consent of the owner or person in charge, or without any other
right in law to occupy
such land, …”
[104]
In
Wormald
NO and others v Kambule
2006
(3) SA 563
(SCA)
the Supreme Court of Appeal held at para [11] that
an
“
owner
is in law entitled to possession of his or her property and to an
ejectment order against a person who unlawfully occupies
the
property except if that right is limited by the Constitution, another
statute, a contract or on some or other legal basis. Brisley
v
Drotsky
2002
(4) SA 1
(SCA)
…
.
In terms of s 26(3) of the Constitution, from which PIE partly
derives (Cape Killarney Property Investments (Pty) Ltd v Mahamba and
Others
2001
(4) SA 1222 (SCA)
…
at
1229E ..), 'no one may be evicted from their home without an order of
court made after consideration of all the relevant circumstances'.
PIE therefore requires a party seeking to evict another from land to
prove not only that he or she owns such land and that the
other party
occupies it unlawfully, but also that he or she has complied with the
procedural provisions and that on a consideration
of all the relevant
circumstances (and, according to the Brisley case, to
qualify as relevant the circumstances must
be legally relevant), an
eviction order is 'just and equitable'
.”
RESPONDENTS
RIGHT TO OCCUPY PROPERTIES:
[105]
By its nature, an eviction application is, at its core, a vindicatory
one. In this regard the approach in such matters
is well stated in
Chetty v Naidoo
1974 (3) SA 13
(A) at 208 - D by Jansen JA as
follows:
"
It
is inherent in the nature of ownership that possession of the res
should normally be with the owner, and it follows that no other
person may withhold it from the owner unless he is vested with some
right enforceable against the owner (e.g. a right of retention
or a
contractual right). The owner in instituting a rei vindicatio, need,
therefore, to no more than allege and prove that he is
the owner, and
that the defendant is holding the res -
the onus being on
the defendant to allege and establish any right to continue to hold
against the owner
(cf Geena v Minister of Lands 1955(2) SA
380 (A) at 382 E, 383)."
[My underlining]
[106]
The principles of evictions are best set out in the matter of
City
of Johannesburg v Changing Tides 74 (Pty) Ltd
2012 (6) SA 294
(SCA)
.
In considering an eviction order a court is essentially faced with
two enquiries:
i)
the first relates to the determination
whether an eviction order should be granted and
ii)
the second relating to the determination of
the date and other conditions. In both instances the court's decision
must be just and
equitable.
[107]
In considering the first leg of the enquiry the respondents bore the
onus to proof their right to occupy.
[108]
The respondents rely on the existence of the LWWS Head Lease which
they say give them the right to occupy the properties.
This lease was
not registered in terms of section 1(2) of the Act as a long lease
against the title deeds of the properties. The
question to be
answered is then whether the applicant had actual knowledge of the
long lease at the time of acquiring the properties.
[109]
The respondents alleged that the liquidators and auctioneers knew of
the lease and state that because the information
pack at the auction
contained a reference to an apparent head lease the applicant had
knowledge. I am as stated earlier not satisfied
that the applicant
knew of the LWWS long lease having regard to the information pack
that also referred to the selling of individual
units without a lease
and more specifically to clause 2.6 of the agreement between the
parties. The lease also provides for a non-cancellation
clause in
respect of breach which will prejudice creditors. It is also
noteworthy that the information pack does not make
any reference to
the LWWS lease but only to the Redlex lease.
[31]
[110]
The applicant also, as was referred to here-in-before, indicated that
Ms Tanya da Rocha did not have the authority to
sign the LWWS Lease
as a trustee of the trust as she was clearly not a trustee at the
time. The fact that she was an agent of Mr.
Wurdeman does not assist
her as she did not act on behalf of the other trustee Mr. Pereira.
[111]
Mr. Dunn stated in the respondents’ heads of argument that:
“
It
must be noted, firstly, that this point is raised in circumstances
where Ms Du Preez was duly authorized to do so
by
both duly appointed trustees
in
terms of a resolution signed
by
both
duly appointed trustees on
15 September 2009 and certified at the police station
.”
[112]
This is not factually correct as the resolution states at paragraph
1.1 the following:
“
l
,
the undersigned, Robert Wurdeman, in my personal capacity, do hereby
nominate, constitute and appoint Tanya du Preez as an Agent
to act
on
my behalf
with Power of Attorney to be
my
lawful Agent in my name,
place and stead to attend and generally
act
on my beha
lf
at
all meetings, all administrative functions, all contractual
agreements on my behalf and power in respect of such powers vested
in
me as a Trustee which my interests are In the general interests of
the Trust and the Beneficiaries, hereby promising to confirm
whatsoever the said Agent may do and or perform by virtue of these
presents…
” (my underlining
and emphasize)
[113]
It is accordingly
abundantly clear that Ms.
Tanya Rocha only acted as the agent of Mr. Wurdeman and not on behalf
of both the trustees namely Mr.
Wurdeman and Mr. Pereira as was
suggested by Mr. Dunn.
[114]
Ms. Tanya Rocha could therefore not have concluded
the LWWS Lease without the consent of the other trustee Mr. Pereira.
It is not
alleged that Mr. Pereira also consented to the conclusion
of the LWWS lease. Ms. Tanya Rocha placing reliance on the resolution
which gave her authority did clearly not act on both the trustee’s
behalf.
[115]
I accordingly find that the LWWS Lease is invalid. Ms. Tanya Rocha
could not act on behalf of the LWWS Trust as she
lacked authority to
bind the LWWS Trust as she had no authority to act on behalf of Mr.
Pereira.
[116]
The result of the invalidity of the LWWS Lease is that the
respondents therefore do not have a right of occupation to
the
properties in question.
[117]
Without a right of occupation the respondents have no legal basis to
challenge the applicant’s ownership of the
properties.
[118]
In the absence of the LWWS lease there is also no Redlex lease.
[119]
Mr. Dunn argued that the LWWS Lease was never cancelled. The LWWS
Lease is however invalid, and the cancellation of
the said lease is
superfluous.
[120] The
respondents accordingly have no contractual right to continue to
occupy the property.
IS
THE EVICTION JUST AND EQUITABLE?
[121]
PIE enjoins the Court to order an eviction only if it is of
the opinion that it is just and equitable to do so, after
considering
all the relevant circumstances as contemplated in section 4(6) and
(7), and section 6(1).
[122]
In terms of section 4(7) of PIE (which applies because the
respondents have been in unlawful occupation for more than
6 months)
the Court has to have regard to a number of factors including, but
not limited to, whether the occupants include vulnerable
categories
of persons such as the elderly, children and female-headed
households, the duration of occupation; and the availability
of
alternative accommodation by a municipality or other organ of State
instances where occupiers are able to obtain accommodation
for
themselves. The aspect of vulnerability of the categories of
persons as set out here in above does not come into play
in the
matter before me. The applicant is also a private entity.
[123]
Section 4(8) of PIE provides further that if “
the court
is satisfied that all the requirements of this section have been
complied with and that no valid defence has been raised
by the
unlawful occupier,
it must grant an order for the eviction
of the unlawful occupier
, and determine-
(a)
a just and equitable date on which the unlawful occupier must
vacate the land under the circumstances; and
(b)
the date on which an eviction order may be carried out if the
unlawful occupier has not vacated the land on the date contemplated
in paragraph (a)
”. (my underlining)
[124]
In
City of Johannesburg v Changing Tides 74 (Pty) Ltd
2012
(6) SA 294
(SCA) at paragraph [18] the following is stated:
“
The
position is otherwise when the party seeking the eviction is a
private person or entity bearing no constitutional obligation
to
provide housing. The Constitutional Court has said that private
entities are not obliged to provide free housing for other members
of
the community indefinitely, but their rights of occupation may be
restricted, and they can be expected to submit to some delay
in
exercising, or some suspension of, their right to possession of their
property in order to accommodate the immediate needs of
the
occupiers
.”
[125]
The Supreme Court of Appeal in
Changing Tides 74
specified,
at paragraph [16], that only in what could be deemed exceptional
circumstances would a court interfere with a party’s
proprietary rights.
[126]
The respondents to date remain in unlawful occupation of the property
as defined in PIE, and as there are no factors
justifying their
ongoing occupation, it is just an equitable for the Court to order
the eviction from the property. No circumstances
have been
alleged that would render an eviction order inequitable, and none
appear from the affidavits filed of record or from
what was stated in
the respondents’ oral submissions in Court.
[127]
I have been informed that the sixth respondent is not in occupation
of the properties and that the eight respondent
has been liquidated.
CONCLUSION:
[128]
In all of these circumstances, the procedural and substantive
provisions of section 4 of PIE have been complied with,
and there is
no reason why the eviction of the respondents should not be ordered.
COSTS:
[129]
It is clear from what is set out above that the respondents have not
made out any case that would justify the refusal
of the relief sought
or that should delay the applicant’s vindication of its
property. In my view costs should follow
the event.
UPLOADING
OF JUDGMENT:
[130]
The judgment in this matter was already finalised, signed by me and
forwarded via electronic mail to the registrar to
be uploaded on 22
May 2024. At the time, the said registrar was however on study leave
and provided another registrar’s email
address in the event of
urgency. I did not forward the judgment to the latter’s email
address as I did not believe that the
judgment had to be uploaded on
an urgent basis. I wrongly believed that the said judgment would be
attended to and uploaded on
the return of the initial registrar. This
week I was alerted to and it had come to my attention that the
judgment was never uploaded
on Caselines and handed down. I
accordingly, because the judgment was not handed down yet will adjust
the time frame for vacating
the properties.
ORDER:
[131] I
accordingly grant an order in the following terms:
[131.1]
That the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and seventh
respondents and any persons claiming right and/or all
those that
occupy the properties, including their family servants and/or
employees, are ordered to vacate from the immoveable properties
being
UNIT 9 AND UNIT 60 MONT BLANC HEIGHTS physically situated at 23
SOVEREIGN STREET, BEDFORD GARDENS, GERMISTON ("the property")
by no later than the
7
th
of OCTOBER 2024
.
[131.2]
Should the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and seventh
respondents fail to vacate the property on the
7
th
of OCTOBER 2024
, the eviction order may be carried out, in which
event the Sheriff of this Court ("the Sherifl") is
authorised and directed
to forthwith evict the first to eighth
respondent and all those that occupy the property by virtue of,
through or under their occupation
thereof, including their family,
servants and/or employees, or short term stay residents from the
property.
[131.3]
The Sheriff is authorised and directed to take all legal steps to
enforce this Court order including the use of a
Locksmith.
[131.4]
The first, second, third, fourth, fifth and seventh respondents pay
the costs of this application, jointly and severally,
the one paying
the other to be absolved.
Delivered:
This judgment was prepared and authored by the Judge whose name is
reflected on 7 August 2024 and is handed down electronically
by
circulation to the parties/their legal representatives by e mail
and by uploading it to the electronic file of this matter
on
CaseLines. The date for hand-down is deemed to be h00 on 7 August
2024
S
van Aswegen
Acting
Judge of the High Court,
Johannesburg
APPEARANCES:
For
the Applicant: Adv
CJC Nel
Instructed
by: Kaveer
Guiness Inc
For
the Respondent: Mr T Dunn
Instructed
by:
TJC Dunn
Attorneys
[1]
001-66.
[2]
00-67
[3]
Annexure FA4 at
001-68
[4]
001-75
[5]
004-60
and 004-64
[6]
Para
67 003-30.
[7]
001-61
[8]
01-161
and 01-165.
[9]
FA11
001-176
[10]
Para
113 004-36
[11]
Bloemfontein
Council v Richter, 1938 AD 195.
[12]
Annexure
FA6
[13]
Annexure
FA7
[14]
001-124
[15]
TAP2
at 003-400
[16]
TAP
6 003-202
[17]
001-144
[18]
001-155
[19]
001-61
[20]
FA
11 001-176
[21]
003-206
[22]
See
CaseLines 004-134
[23]
004-135
[24]
004-137
[25]
004-136
[26]
Simplex
(Pty) Ltd v Van der
Merwe
and others
1996 (1) SA 111
(W) at 112 I-J), also Lupacchini NO v The
Minister of
Safety
and Security
2010 (6) SA 45
SCA.
[27]
See
Simplex
at 113E/F-F/G
[28]
Hoosen
and Others and Others v Deedat
1999 (4) SA 425
SCA at paras 25 and
26 (432 H-I and 433B)
[29]
RA14
004--126
[30]
004-125
[31]
004-169
sino noindex
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