Fraser v Viljoen

The appellants were lessees of a flat owned by the respondent. They sought to purchase the property and sent the respondent an unsigned, incomplete written offer on a standard sale of immovable property form, leaving blank the names of the purchasers and the description of the property. The respondent altered the purchase price, inserted her name as seller, signed the document and returned it. Thereafter, the appellants inserted the property description, added their names as purchasers, and signed the document without returning it to the respondent for re-signature. When the respondent later refused to proceed with transfer, the appellants sought to enforce the agreement.

The appeal was dismissed with costs, and the agreement of sale was declared void for non-compliance with s 2(1) of the Alienation of Land Act.

The case reinforces strict compliance with the Alienation of Land Act and confirms that all material terms must be present in a deed of sale at the time it is delivered for signature. It clarifies that one contracting party cannot be authorised to complete material terms on behalf of the other in land sale agreements, thereby strengthening legal certainty in property transactions.