Legal Talk

The court was required to make a ruling whether or not it was just and equitable to evict a person from her residence after the relationship with her former lover had ended. In the case before the court, a married German businessman and who lived primarily in Germany, owned a house in Somerset West.

The man said that he had an oral agreement of lease with the woman to occupy the home since 2007. He said that the terms of their agreement of lease was that the woman would maintain the home and pay all expenses for the home from funds which he provided the woman with. He claimed the woman breached the lease agreement by failing to pay for the expenses incurred for the home. He then tried to evict the woman from the premises.

The woman denied this and said there was no lease agreement concluded between them whatsoever, whether written or oral. Her version was that she and the man were involved in a romantic relationship. The man lived with her for four months every year and would then return to Germany to his wife.

The woman was given a general power of attorney by the man to deal with his affairs in South Africa and received financial support from him to maintain herself and to run the home.

She said she was given jewellery and a motor vehicle as gifts and was introduced to people as the man's wife. According to the woman she was allowed to reside on the property for ten years and claimed that her partner said that even if the relationship ended, he would give her townhouse of the same value to the one she occupied.

The court however held that the man could not be prohibited from terminating his relationship with the woman nor was he prohibited to withdraw his consent for the woman to live in the home. As the woman was no longer his partner he had withdrawn his consent and as the owner of the premises he was entitled to retake possession of the premises.

The woman was therefore unlawfully occupying the property and was ordered to vacate the premises. The court held that cohabitants generally do not have the same rights as partners in a marriage or civil union, "since our Courts have emphasized the importance of marriage as a social institution and the important legal obligations such as the reciprocal duty of support flowing therefrom".

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