Ruhan Knoetze v Gysbertus Johannes Botes N.O. (in his capacity as trustee of the JRB Trust)

The plaintiff purchased a dual-level townhouse (Unit 2, Tikwe Housing Development) from the defendant Trust in July 2018 for R1.2 million. The Trust was both developer and seller. On 24 June 2019, after a fire was lit in the fireplace, a fire broke out in an upstairs bedroom, rendering the unit uninhabitable. Expert evidence indicated that a timber roof truss had been built through the brick-and-mortar chimney into the chimney void near the steel flue pipe, contrary to building regulations, creating a latent fire hazard. The plaintiff alleged that this latent defect caused the fire and that the defendant, as developer, fraudulently failed to disclose it at the time of sale. The defendant denied the existence of the defect, denied knowledge thereof, and relied on an exemption (voetstoots) clause.

The defendant was declared liable for all damages suffered by the plaintiff arising from the fire. The quantification of damages was postponed sine die. The defendant was ordered to pay the plaintiff’s costs on the merits, including expert costs and counsel’s fees.

The case affirms that developer-sellers may be treated as manufacturer-sellers and deemed to have knowledge of latent construction defects. It reinforces the principle that fraudulent non-disclosure of latent defects defeats voetstoots or exemption clauses. The judgment also illustrates the judicial approach to expert evidence in fire causation disputes, emphasising legal probability over scientific certainty.