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Landlord need not be a property's owner
IolProperty - South Africa
The Rental Housing Act defines a landlord as "the owner of a dwelling which is leased, and includes his or her duly authorised agent or a person who is in lawful possession of a dwelling and has the right to lease or sub-lease it".

The amendments to the Act substitutes the word "landlord" with "landowner" but the definition remains the same, confirming the common law position.

A tenant is not required to establish the landlord's right (title) to enter into a lease contract and cannot refuse to pay rental or vacate the dwelling when it is discovered that the landlord did not have permission to let.

"By the law of this country, any person can let to another something which belongs to a third party, and it is not open to the lessee to raise the defence that he has discovered that the lessor had no right to enter into a contract of lease with him, or that the property leased belongs to another person, where, for instance, he is, during the currency of the lease, sued for the payment of the stipulated rent." (Sby G.M.CO v Klipriviersberg Estate & G.M.Co 1893).
IolProperty

SA rights groups criticize land expropriation bill
Moneyweb - South Africa
Says it could be unconstitutional and subject to the whims of ministers.

Proposed laws to allow the seizure of land and property to redress the imbalance of ownership between black and white South Africans, could be unconstitutional and subject to the whims of ministers, rights groups told parliament on Tuesday. Land remains a highly emotive issue in South Africa, where 300 years of colonial rule and white-minority government have left the vast majority of farmland in the hands of a small, mainly white, group of people.

The prospect of expropriation has drawn comparisons with neighbour Zimbabwe, where state-sponsored land grabs spooked investors and contributed to the country’s economic ruin. Phephelaphi Dube, legal officer at the Centre for Constitutional Rights, a unit attached to former President FW de Klerk’s foundation, said the definition of “public interest” to justify the seizures in the proposed laws lacked clarity.
Moneyweb

The risks and rewards of buying off plan
Rawson- South Africa
The idea of being able to buy a brand-new, never-been-lived-in home can be very appealing, but building from scratch can be an expensive and stressful commitment. According to Tony Clarke, Managing Director of the Rawson Property Group, buying off plan can be the perfect compromise. “Buying off plan is a great option for people who want something new, fresh and customisable, but are intimidated by the thought of building and don’t have the budget, time or experience to do major renovations on an existing home,” says Clarke.

“It can also be a great investment, under the right circumstances,” he continues. “Plenty of developments appreciate in value significantly over the building period, raising the price of units two or three times before completion. If you buy early on, you can often make a significant profit selling just a year or two later, once the development is complete and showing at its best.”
Rawson

Steering conveyancers to victory
Mortgage Introducer - UK
Mark Riddick, chairman of Search Acumen, assesses the entwined fate of the introducer and the conveyancer in the next five years.

Which conveyancers are likely to be the biggest winners in the industry over the next five years? That's the conversation we've been having as an industry in editorials, boardrooms, and over the tinkling of glasses this summer.

Rapid technological changes are driving conveyancing and its ancillary industries, and with recent reforms we can see a hazy shape of things to come in the next five years. Land Registry, for example, is to become the central source of LLC1 searches as part of the current government's open data move; the initiative has been welcomed by some in the industry, but equally criticised by others. Here at Search Acumen, we're inspired by the opportunities created by advancing technology, and so we've welcomed the changes. We understand the need for conveyancers to have quick and easy access to information currently hidden within big data sets.
Mortgage Introducer

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