On 13 August 2025, the High Court held that the acknowledgement of debt under consideration was a credit agreement under the National Credit Act due to the deferral of the payment to a future date and interest charged on all overdue amounts until final payment. The court dismissed an application for payment of the debt
Riccardo Petersen (ZA)
Section 129(1) of the National Credit Act requires negotiation of arrear payment terms
By Riccardo Petersen (ZA) on
At the end of May 2025, the High Court held that where notice is given by the credit provider to the consumer under section 129(1)(a) of the National Credit Act drawing attention to a default, the credit provider must negotiate with the consumer who wants to make arrangements to pay off the arrears. The credit provider…
When agreements are repudiated, some clauses still linger
This blog is co-authored by Danita Mungaroo, a candidate attorney.
In April 2025, the Supreme Court of Appeal decided that a contracting party who repudiated the contract can rely on the terms of an agreement after cancellation of the agreement.
The respondent, an international provider of information technology services concluded agreements with the appellants in…
Valuation Appeal Boards must assess and analyse all expert evidence
By Riccardo Petersen (ZA) & Hlonela Mayosi on
In November 2024, the Supreme Court of Appeal (court) set a precedent for Valuation Appeal Boards (VABs) in South Africa, reaffirming the importance of providing clear and reasoned decisions. The court highlighted that VABs, which are entrusted to adjudicate over valuation appeals in accordance with section 54 of the Local Government:…
Constitutional Court grants ratepayers retrospective relief from unlawful rates
By Riccardo Petersen (ZA) & Hlonela Mayosi on
On 24 March 2025, the Constitutional Court upheld the appeal of Ekapa Minerals (Pty) Ltd and set aside the order of the High Court. The appeal related to whether the Constitutional Court could interfere with the High Court’s exercise of its true discretion under section 172(1)(b) of the Constitution by deciding to grant a retrospective…
Sale, and option lease held not to be a simulated credit agreement.
By Riccardo Petersen (ZA) on
This blog is co-authored by Neshalia Nayagar, trainee associate.
On 21 February 2025, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) held that the sale and lease transactions did not constitute credit agreements under the National Credit Act (NCA) and were not disguised or simulated agreements which were concluded on terms to avoid the provisions of the…
Acknowledgment of debt and power of attorney unlawful under the National Credit Act
By Riccardo Petersen (ZA) on
This blog post was co-authored by Neshalia Nayagar, Trainee Associate.
On 10 February 2025, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by a lending bank. The appeal related to whether an acknowledgement of debt, incorporating a power of attorney (AOD/POA) that was concluded by the bank, with Mr Serfontein and Mr Serfontein senior, was…
Judicial oversight of execution against property requires full facts before court
By Riccardo Petersen (ZA) & Vishana Makan on
Where an order was sought declaring immovable property specially executable but no facts had been placed before the court by the defendant, the court authorised the sale.
The court held that to deny an order declaring a property specially executable where the summons clearly draws a debtor’s attention to their right to lead evidence and…
A settlement agreement is not governed by the National Credit Act if the underlying dispute is not
By Riccardo Petersen (ZA) on
The Supreme Court of Appeal found that if the underlying cause of a settlement does not fall within the parameters of the National Credit Act (NCA), then the settlement agreement cannot logically be converted to a credit agreement under the NCA. The underlying cause (in this case the rental agreement) is of vital significance because…
Appeal court reluctantly finds a once-off loan requires registration as credit provider
By Riccardo Petersen (ZA) on
The appeal court has found that the requirement to register as a credit provider is applicable to all credit agreements once the prescribed threshold is reached (currently zero), irrespective of whether the credit provider is involved in the credit industry and irrespective of whether the credit agreement is a once-off transaction. The appeal court…