Is Voetstoots Legal In South Africa?
voetstoots is an agreement inserted into many of the contracts for the sale of goods or services in South Africa. No matter whether or not a property or item is defective or not, the owner is buying it.
Is Voetstoots Still Legal?
In South African case law, we have noted that a seller can’t claim a voetstoots clause for misrepresentations since the seller was aware a latent defect was present and hid it or failed to disclose it to the customer.
What Is Voetstoots And How Does It Protect The Seller?
It says in the settlement clause that purchasers shall buy the property from the seller as is and thereby be protected if a defect in the premises is found patent or otherwise.
Does The Consumer Protection Act Apply To Private Sales?
It is not possible to close an ordinary transaction by transferring real estate ownership to another party and thereby register this business as a sole proprietor under the CPA. There are particular types of buyers who are not provided with protection of the CPA.
Is The Term Voetstoots Still Valid?
As they concealed it from the purchaser, they caused structural problems, damp, leaking roofs, etc. Under federal law, it is not possible to protect the seller against claims from buyers for certain latent defects the seller knew about but concealed from them.
Is Voetstoots Common Law?
voetstoots clauses are a legal principle for selling “without a push of the foot”. It is true that a seller, under common law, must make the purchaser pay all defects found latent after they have been disclosed for a period of three (three) years after the sale.
Is A Voetstoots Clause Legal In South Africa?
Based on recent opinion of our courts, sellers cannot rely on the voetstoots clause if a seller knew or intended to conceal such latent defects or deliberately concealed or failed to disclose them.
Even though a vehicle can be sold only in a private auction, it should not mean that a buyer should leave it behind. To verify a sale of a vehicle is validly performed by a private seller; a seller must provide a comprehensive list of all defects in a vehicle.
Voetstoots are considered standard in property agreements as preventing purchasers from recovering for defects (whether patent or latent), when they purchase the property as they appear at closing.
Your situation would be very different if you were not a developer, investor or speculator. Yes, a “voetstoot” clause does still have validity under the new Consumer Protection Act.
What Does The Cpa Say About Voetstoots?
Under the common law, a seller may be liable for a defect resulting from accepting terms in an agreement, after which a buyer may demur and accept the product as is as described in the contract. Sellers who conceal a defect or who fail to disclose a known defect cannot hide behind the voetstoots clause if they conceal such a defect.
