The first respondent, Van der Lith, was the owner of an agricultural farm, Canterbury 254, in Limpopo. On 19 June 2001 he entered into a written agreement to sell an undivided portion of the farm to the appellants, Mr and Mrs Geue, who were married in community of property. The farm constituted agricultural land as defined in the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act 70 of 1970. At the time of conclusion of the agreement, the land had not been subdivided and the written consent of the Minister of Agriculture, required by s 3(e)(i) of the Act for the sale of a portion of agricultural land, had not been obtained. The agreement expressly made the sale subject to a suspensive condition that the necessary ministerial consent for subdivision would be obtained. The appellants paid R200 000 of the purchase price into the trust account of the transferring attorneys. Thereafter, the appellants applied to the High Court for an order declaring the agreement null and void for contravening s 3(e)(i) of the Act and for repayment of the money. Van der Lith opposed the application and counter-applied for a declaration that the agreement became enforceable once the Minister’s consent was obtained. The High Court dismissed the appellants’ application and granted the counter-application. The appellants appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
The appeal was upheld. The orders of the High Court were set aside and replaced with an order declaring the agreement of sale null and void and directing repayment of the R200 000 paid by the appellants, together with appropriate costs.
This case authoritatively clarified that agreements for the sale of portions of agricultural land concluded without ministerial consent are invalid even if they are made subject to a suspensive condition that such consent be obtained. It confirmed the effect of the 1981 amendment to the Subdivision of Agricultural Land Act and curtailed attempts to rely on suspensive conditions to avoid statutory prohibitions. The judgment is a leading authority on statutory interpretation, the effect of suspensive conditions, and the invalidity of contracts concluded in contravention of protective legislation in South African law.