DESCRIPTION OF A SECTIONAL TITLE UNIT IN A DEED OF SALE Erf 441 Robertsville Property CC v New Market Developments (Pty) Ltd 2007 2 SA 179 (W)

The correct description of a sectional title unit in a deed of sale has yet again received the attention of the High Court in Erf 441 Robertsville Property CC v New Market Developments (Pty) Ltd 2007 2 SA 179 (W). The issue has been the subject matter of litigation on a number of occasions: Botes v Toti Development Co (Pty) Ltd (1978 1 SA 205 (T)); Richtown Development (Pty) Ltd v Dusterwald (1981 3 SA 691 (W)); Forsyth v Josi (1982 2 SA 164 (N)); Naude v Schutte (1983 4 SA 74 (T)); Kendrick v Community Development Board (1983 4 SA 532 (W)); Den Dunnen v Kreder (1985 3 SA 616 (T)); and Phone-A-Copy Worldwide (Pty) Ltd v Orkin (1986 1 SA 729 (A)). Thelitigation stems from the fact that in terms of the Sectional Titles Act 95 of 1986 a sectional title unit is deemed to be land (s 3(4)), meaning that a sale agreement of a unit must comply with requirements of the Alienation of Land Act 68 of 1981. This stipulates (s 2(1)) that a sale of land is of no force or effect unless it is contained in a deed of alienation signed by the parties or their agents acting on their written authority. The Act does not require an agreement of sale of land to contain a faultless description of the propertysold, coached in meticulously accurate terms, but does demand some degree of accuracy in this regard.