COC for property sales

[Dave A]

Selling a car without brakes to someone unlucky enough to kill himself before betting home could see you being tried for culpable homicide. Providied their family are aware of Article 16.

And if you informed the buyer that the brakes don't work and he/she acknowledged this in writing?

i have just completed a project working on a site...with yes...wait for it...safety officers...only skilled enough to check if you are wearing safety boots and a hard hat...whooooopeeee do...clearly there is not a huge safety issue on construction sites...the fact that there are people not suitably skilled to carry out the duties they are performing...which creates an extremely dangerous enviroment for others on the site or the people who will occupy the building in the future is not as important...mmmm...looking at the positive side at least they are creating employment

As long as the paperwork is done, the site is safe



I think what you need to bear in mind is that when the law is an ass, people find their own way through the maze. For the law to be strictly enforced, someone has to commence action. And without the prospect of a benefit/advantage being gained, chances of action being commenced are unlikely.

The classic example is the "electrical COC must be obtained before the property is put up for sale." There are lots of practical reasons why this doesn't happen, mostly to do with money (or the lack of it), but also because it would seem prudent to ensure the COC test is conducted as close to the time of transfer as reasonably possible - without actually delaying the transfer, of course

Law doesn't operate in isolation - it has to function within the society it governs. First prize would be that the law is entirely appropriate to the society it governs, but one just has to look at politicians (particularly our current bunch) to understand why that doesn't always work out as well as it should.

[murdock]

I would also be looking at the Consumer Protection Act to see if any of those clauses would directly or indirectly apply..

has anyone looked at the consumer act?...i have very little knowledge of it...i have nothing to hide...i dont rip my customers off nor try tie them into dodgy contracts so the only thing i need to know about is it...is whether the equipment the wholesaler is selling is legit.

[murdock]

well you know how i feel about a buyer trusting the seller to do the coc...

looking at it from a different angle...surely any person with a little brains and staff in a building or a better example their famliy at home would want to create a safe enviroment...considering 90% of fires are caused by electrical faults (according to an ad running on east coast radio)

you would think that any man would take the responsibilty and make sure his family is safe...he would spend R100 000 putting up security fencing burglar gaurds to lock his family into the house in the case of a fire...maybe make sur ehis house is as safe as can be...then i ask myself this question...why is it that it seems like whenever a coc is done at the time of sale there are always so many repairs required....

if you maintain the electrical installtion like you service your car...when the house is sold there should be no need for a huge repair bill...every 15000 you service your car...at least every 2 year you should have your house checked and there should only be minor repairs and have them fixed...and make sure you use a legit electrical contractor...word of mouth seems to work for everything else why cant it work for your electrical contractor.

what i find is the people let the electrical installation get so bad that it is already tooo late when they start doing maintanance....some of my customers are in this position...so what we do is make a list and sort out the big problems first then tackle the other issues over a period of time...eventually its like paying off a big debt it goes away if you just keep at it...you stop you go backwards...the penalties and charges get out of hand...much like your electircal installation.

[Sparks]

Like Dave said "it's all about the money". Their families lives are not worth a COC.

[murdock]

Like Dave said "it's all about the money". Their families lives are not worth a COC.

the other problem is who do you trust...to do a credible job without just trying to make a quick buc out of you...thats the important question.

electrical contractors and i speak for myself are having to to use unskilled labour to perform tasks which they are not suitably qualified at to stay in bussiness...i am looking into reducing my rates to get work by as much as R100-R150 per hour to suvive...and the only way i can do this is by dumping unskiled labour on site and hope i dont get caught....or looking into using forgeiners who are willing to work for fraction of the cost...and are skilled...and i dont have to regster them saving me huge amounts of fees like paye...industrial council fees etc etc...you got to do what you got to do to survive at the moment...and i dont see it getting any better in the near future...call me a pesimist...i would say a realist.

[bergie]

if you sell a car you dont need to provide a roadworthy certificate.the buyer can put the car on his name,but he wont get the disc until he supplies the rwc.
if you sell a smashed car,imagine having to roadworthy it first.

[Sparks]

There is not a safety standard for a scrapped car.

[AndyD]

I would also be looking at the Consumer Protection Act to see if any of those clauses would directly or indirectly apply..

has anyone looked at the consumer act?...i have very little knowledge of it...i have nothing to hide...i dont rip my customers off nor try tie them into dodgy contracts so the only thing i need to know about is it...is whether the equipment the wholesaler is selling is legit.

I was thinking out loud how the CPA might have affected the COC requirements when selling a house. With it being the most recent legislation it might take precedent over existing legislation. I don't think the COC is addressed directly but there might be indirect implications from some of the 'fit for purpose' type clauses.

[Dave A]

I was thinking out loud how the CPA might have affected the COC requirements when selling a house. With it being the most recent legislation it might take precedent over existing legislation. I don't think the COC is addressed directly but there might be indirect implications from some of the 'fit for purpose' type clauses.

Part of the reason I've been a little less chirpy than usual of late is I'm taking a close look at this. I'll be sure to share any particularly pertinent observations once I've got the issues reasonably settled in my own mind.

[murdock]

dave maybe you should start a thread...to give us some tips to look out for or stop us from getting burnt.

[Sparks]

Excellent idea

[bergie]

There is not a safety standard for a scrapped car.

i didnt mean a scrapped car. a damaged car that is still liscensed can be resold and put on the new owners name without a rwc.as i said they keep back the disc until you produce the rwc. i dont think there is a time limit to produce the rwc.

[Sparks]

Back to willing buyer/seller. Nevermind the law or safety.
Article 16 has been buried since it was legislated,

[murdock]

what is most important is public awareness...public being the buyer and public being the seller .

it is about time the public was made aware of their rights when it comes to buyer and selling a property.

it is about time the person responsible for the electrical rules and regulations becomes more pro active in his public awareness programs...educating not only the public but everyone in the elctrical industry.

anyone know the persons name who is responsible for the electrical industry...the rules...sana code and the policing of it?

is the person or people responsible doing anything to improve the industry that i might not know about?

could it be that they are making progress but it is so slow that we dont see any improvement?

or i am i the one who needs to open my eyes and see what is happening around me?

[Sparks]

If a clause is added to a contract all contradicting clauses should be removed to avoid complications. I am surprised buyers do not negotiate the price to ensure that they can get their own reputable electrician to certify their homes rather than accept what is supplied by the turd who gives the agent the biggest kick-back,