Page 76 - Q&A Book.indd

and when the Municipality became aware of the debt. The Municipality
knew that they were supplying water to Argent Industrial and that
they were paying monthly estimates provided by the Municipality.
The Municipality however did not know what the exact consumption
of Argent Industrial was, knowledge which was within its reach, had
it fulfilled its functions and the Municipality could have acquired this
knowledge by exercising reasonable care. The court held further that
the Municipality’s argument that Argent Industrial’s regular payments
for estimated consumption amounted to an acknowledgement of their
liability did not carry any weight as a consumer cannot acknowledge
a debt that he was not aware of, when either the details of the debt are
particularly within the knowledge of the other party, or only the other
party has the ability to quantify the debt, and does not do so.
Accordingly, the court ordered the Municipality to calculate the average
monthly water consumption of Argent Industrial from September 2009
until March 2015, using the meter reading on the municipal account
received and then charge Argent Industrial only the average amount
for water consumption for the period March 2012 to March 2015.
Herewith the court effectively found in favour or Argent Industrial and
determined that their debt older than three years was written off in
accordance with the Prescription Act.

This finding therefore supports your view that the municipality cannot
charge you for 10 years of outstanding water readings of which you
were not aware. It is our advice that you consult with your attorney to
investigate the matter in detail and advise you of your rights taking into
Property
account this recent decision.

Can my outdoor spa land me in hot water with
the body corporate?

Cleopatra Mukhari
February 2017

“My wife and I recently moved into a sectional title unit. We
used to have an outdoor spa at our previous house and would
like to put one in again, but we are not sure what the rules of
sectional titles schemes are when it comes to installing spa
baths? Do I need permission or can I just continue?”

Before installing a spa bath or Jacuzzi in your sectional title unit, you
should consider the following. Firstly, it is important to distinguish
whether the area you wish to install the spa bath on forms part of the

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