Wine v Zondani

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Judge: Jansen J
• Judgment Date: 27 February 2009
• Docket Number: 2044/08
• Court: South Eastern Cape Local Division
• Hearing Date: 27 February 2009
• Citation: 2009 JDR 0141 (SE)

Jansen J:

This is an application brought in terms of section 4 of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act No. 19 of 1998. The applicants seek an order evicting the respondent from residential property which she currently occupies. The property is described as Erf 13242 Motherwell Port Elizabeth and situated at 134 Ngwevana Street, Motherwell, NU9, Port Elizabeth. The order is sought against the respondent together with her dependants and any other person or persons occupying the said property with her. The respondent opposes the application.

There is no material factual dispute in this matter. During 1991, when the respondent was residing in Tsoksville, Port Elizabeth, she attended the offices of Khayalitsha Housing in Port Elizabeth and applied for one of the properties in a housing scheme known as Servcon, apparently controlled by Standard

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Bank. She was then informed that she did not qualify for a housing loan with Servcon because her income was minimal. A person employed by Khayalitsha Housing advised her to get another person to sign the documentation and to produce that person's salary advice to qualify for a bond with Standard Bank Servcon. The respondent was advised that Servcon would be aware that she was the person living in the property and that she would be regarded as the owner thereof although the property would not be registered in her name. The respondent then attended the offices of Khayalitsha Housing with her then boyfriend, one Sydney Oliphant, who then signed the agreement with Standard Bank Servcon. Mr Oliphant was at all times aware of the fact that the property actually was supposed to belong to the respondent. The respondent paid the deposit of R1 500,00 and was at all times responsible for the bond repayments on the property in the sum of R302,00. She moved into the property during 1991. The property was duly registered in the name of Sydney Oliphant during 1992. Since registration thereof the respondent paid diligently every month the bond repayment amounts directly into the Standard Bank account.

Since 1992 the respondent attempted to enter into an agreement with Servcon to purchase the property and to have it registered in her name. Eventually during 2003 the respondent did enter into an agreement with Standard Bank to purchase the property. The respondent was given pages 1 and 10 of the Agreement. In this Agreement it was acknowledged that the respondent was at the time in possession of the property. The purchase price thereof was R25 000,00. It was recorded in the Agreement that the transfer of

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the property into the name of the respondent would be attended to by a local firm of attorneys Joubert Galpin and Searle. A copy of a letter dated 12 May 2003 on a Standard Bank letterhead written by one Nicholas Nkoane, who was the Servcon Officer at Standard Bank, to the Servcon Housing Solution, PE Branch, was made available to the respondent. A copy thereof is attached to her opposing affidavit. That letter confirms approval of the respondent's offer to purchase the said property for an amount of R25 000,00. It was also recorded that the firm of Joubert Galpin and Searle will be handling the transfer. Since 2003 the respondent has been waiting patiently for the said firm of attorneys to contact her. She went to Servcon's offices on numerous occasions and also contacted them telephonically to enquire about the progress made, but she was always told to be patient. In the meantime she still continued to make bond repayments on the property. The last payment she made was on 19 January 2005. She then stopped making payments to Servcon at...