Slabbert N O and Others v Ma-Afrika Hotels (Pty) Ltd t/a Rivierbos Guest House

The Venezia Trust purchased a property in Stellenbosch in October 2018 and leased it back to Ma-Afrika Hotels (Pty) Ltd, which operated a guest house on the premises, under a ten-year triple-net lease commencing in 2019. The lease required monthly rental to be paid in advance without deduction or set-off and entitled the lessor to cancel summarily upon non-payment. Following the Covid-19 pandemic and government lockdown regulations from March 2020, the respondent’s guest house was prohibited or severely restricted from operating for extended periods. The respondent failed to pay rentals from March 2020 onwards. By December 2020, rental arrears exceeded R870,000. The Trust cancelled the lease and sought eviction and payment of arrears. The High Court ordered payment of arrears but refused eviction, holding that the respondent’s inability to trade due to Covid-19 regulations rendered cancellation unfair. The Trust appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal was upheld with costs. The High Court’s order dismissing eviction was set aside and replaced with an order evicting the respondent from the premises and authorising the issuing of a writ of ejectment. The cross-appeal was upheld, and the determination of the claim for arrear rentals (Part B) was remitted to the High Court for adjudication.

This case is significant for clarifying the impact of Covid-19-related impossibility on commercial leases in South African law. It confirms that where a lease expressly excludes reciprocity by requiring payment of rent in advance without deduction, a lessee cannot rely on impossibility or deprivation of beneficial occupation to withhold rent or resist cancellation. The judgment reinforces pacta sunt servanda in the context of pandemic-related disputes and provides authoritative guidance on eviction claims arising from Covid-19 non-payment cases.