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.
Over the course of the next 7 weeks we will discuss how defects and the
disclosure of defects must be addressed in terms of the PPA. This article is Part
1 in the series and discusses the disclosure of defects and the
legal status of the IPCR.
Defects under the PPA part 1
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