, PVL3701 Assignment 1 (COMPLETE ANSWERS) Semester
2 2026 - DUE 3 September 2026; 100% Correct solutions
and explanations.
QUESTION 1
Nature of the Right of Graceful Blessings Over the Property and the
Limitation Imposed by the Agreement
The starting point in answering this question is to distinguish between personal
rights and real rights, as required by the law of property. A real right is a right
which a person has in respect of a thing and which is enforceable against third
parties, whereas a personal right is generally a right which one person has against
another person to demand a particular performance. Ownership represents the most
comprehensive real right recognised by South African property law. It gives the
owner extensive powers over the thing, including the entitlement to possess, use,
enjoy and dispose of it, subject to restrictions imposed by legislation, the common
law and the rights of other persons (UNISA, Study Guide, Study Unit 2–3).
In Graceful Blessing (Pty) Ltd v Zander Burger Properties (Pty) Ltd 2024 (2) SA
441 (FB), Graceful Blessings was the registered owner of a commercial
property in Bloemfontein. The court expressly identified Graceful Blessings as
the registered owner, while Zander Burger Properties (ZBP) occupied the premises
in terms of a written lease agreement. The ownership of the property therefore
constituted a real right belonging to Graceful Blessings. Registration of immovable
property in the Deeds Registry is particularly significant because ownership of
registered immovable property is acquired and transferred through registration in
accordance with the applicable property-law rules (UNISA, Study Guide, Study
Units 3–5).
Ownership, however, is not an unlimited or absolute right. Although the owner
normally has the strongest legal relationship with the thing, the exercise of
ownership can be restricted by the law and by legally recognised rights held by
other persons. The fact that Graceful Blessings was the owner did not therefore
mean that it could exercise its ownership in any manner it wished. This is
particularly important where the owner has voluntarily granted another person a
right to use and occupy the property.
In this case, Graceful Blessings concluded a written lease agreement with ZBP. A
lease does not transfer ownership of the leased property to the lessee. Instead, it
2 2026 - DUE 3 September 2026; 100% Correct solutions
and explanations.
QUESTION 1
Nature of the Right of Graceful Blessings Over the Property and the
Limitation Imposed by the Agreement
The starting point in answering this question is to distinguish between personal
rights and real rights, as required by the law of property. A real right is a right
which a person has in respect of a thing and which is enforceable against third
parties, whereas a personal right is generally a right which one person has against
another person to demand a particular performance. Ownership represents the most
comprehensive real right recognised by South African property law. It gives the
owner extensive powers over the thing, including the entitlement to possess, use,
enjoy and dispose of it, subject to restrictions imposed by legislation, the common
law and the rights of other persons (UNISA, Study Guide, Study Unit 2–3).
In Graceful Blessing (Pty) Ltd v Zander Burger Properties (Pty) Ltd 2024 (2) SA
441 (FB), Graceful Blessings was the registered owner of a commercial
property in Bloemfontein. The court expressly identified Graceful Blessings as
the registered owner, while Zander Burger Properties (ZBP) occupied the premises
in terms of a written lease agreement. The ownership of the property therefore
constituted a real right belonging to Graceful Blessings. Registration of immovable
property in the Deeds Registry is particularly significant because ownership of
registered immovable property is acquired and transferred through registration in
accordance with the applicable property-law rules (UNISA, Study Guide, Study
Units 3–5).
Ownership, however, is not an unlimited or absolute right. Although the owner
normally has the strongest legal relationship with the thing, the exercise of
ownership can be restricted by the law and by legally recognised rights held by
other persons. The fact that Graceful Blessings was the owner did not therefore
mean that it could exercise its ownership in any manner it wished. This is
particularly important where the owner has voluntarily granted another person a
right to use and occupy the property.
In this case, Graceful Blessings concluded a written lease agreement with ZBP. A
lease does not transfer ownership of the leased property to the lessee. Instead, it
