Deed of Sale: Two important clauses

Writer: LB Vorster.

1. A clause dealing with fixtures In a deed of sale relating to immovable property it is always advisable to specify which items will, by agreement, be removed by the seller and which are fixtures that form part of the sale. In the unfortunate event that the deed of sale is silent on this, the test to determine whether an item is a fixture, and therefore forms part of the sale, is best explained by using a satellite dish as an example:

• Is the dish attached to the fixed property? In the majority of cases the answer to this will be in the affirmative.

• Is the dish attached to the fixed property in such a way that it is clear the seller’s intention was that the attachment should be permanent? Normally this is not the case.

• Will it be possible to remove the dish from the fixed property without causing structural damage? Yes, this is normally possible.

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