Did you know that when you purchase a property, the agreement of sale contains a vague provision, known as the Voetstoots Clause, which could have significant implications for you?
Let’s break it down
Voetstoots has been deeply entrenched within South African Common Law and directly translates to “with the shove of a foot”. The Voetstoots Clause stipulates that the buyer purchases the property ‘as is’, and so the seller cannot be held liable for any damages and defects, post-purchase.
Despite its longstanding presence in South African law, the Voetstoots Clause remains a controversial topic of debate given the introduction of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) which is assumed to have overridden the Clause. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
The Bright Side
According to LFHP Attorneys, Voetstoots demands that the seller must explicitly disclose the existence of latent defects. If it is found that a defect is evidently concealed, provisions will be made to repair, remedy and compensate the new homeowners.
Author: STC_wsi
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