DEFECTS & DISCLOSURE UNDER THE PROPERTY PRACTITIONERS ACT: DISCLOSURE AND LEGAL APPLICATION OF T

The Property Practitioners Act, 22 of 2019 (PPA) & the Regulations that were Gazetted on 14 January
2022 came into operation on 1 February 2022 and brings a number of changes to the property
industry.
Gerhard van der Linde, Managing Director of Seeff Pretoria East asked attorneys MC van der Berg
for guidance on this very important subject, and he recommends that the parties to the agreement of
sale are fully informed regarding these requirements.
 
Disclosure of defects
 
The (PPA) requires the seller to disclose certain defects in a prescribed format, the Immovable
Property Condition Report (IPCR) (herein called the Report), if an estate agent is appointed to market
a property. The estate agent must obtain this completed and signed report from the seller before
he/she is legally permitted to accept a mandate to market the property.
 
Legal status of this report
 
- This report is regarded as a complete written record of the defects the seller is required by law to
disclose to the purchaser before an offer is made.
- The report does not constitute a warranty made by the seller, or nominee/fiduciary or the estate
agent to the purchaser relating to the existence, nature or extent of any defect.
- The report is not an undertaking by the seller to repair or replace any of the defects disclosed,
unless the seller commits him/herself thereto contractually in the agreement. 
- The signatory discloses the information therein in the full knowledge that prospective purchasers
may rely on such information when deciding whether, and on what terms, to purchase the property.