| (1) |
Whenever the particular part of a physical feature (excluding a river) constituting a curvilinear boundary of any piece of land is not described in writing and in unequivocal terms in the title deed or on the original diagram or general plan of that land, and— |
| (a) |
the owner is desirous of having any uncertainty or ambiguity regarding the description of that boundary removed; or |
| (b) |
a diagram representing the whole of that piece of land or any subdivision thereof which abuts on that physical feature has been submitted for approval and the Surveyor-General deems it necessary that the uncertainty or ambiguity be removed prior to the approval of the diagram and has called upon the owner to take steps to that end, |
the owner shall lodge with the Surveyor-General a document as far as practicable in accordance with the Form set out in Schedule I to this Act, in this section referred to as the "agreement", setting out in clear terms, as prescribed, which part of that feature is acknowledged as being the boundary of that piece of land.
| (2) |
The agreement shall be independent of any determination by survey of the position on the ground of that curvilinear boundary and shall be signed by— |
| (a) |
the owner of the land or his or her duly authorised agent; |
| (b) |
every owner of land contiguous thereto and separated therefrom either wholly or in part by that physical feature or his or her duly authorised agent: Provided that in respect of that contiguous land, or any rights to minerals in respect of the land being surveyed, or any other real rights which are held by two or more owners or holders in shares, it shall be sufficient if the agreement is signed by the owners or holders of not less than 75% share in that piece of land or those rights, as the case may be; and |
| (c) |
two competent witnesses to each signature being persons above the age of fourteen years, one of whom may be the land surveyor performing the survey: |
Provided that it shall not be necessary for a contiguous owner to sign the agreement if the Surveyor-General is satisfied that no prejudice will result to that owner from the acceptance of the agreement.
| (3) |
Section 29(1) to (5) shall apply with the necessary changes to the agreement under this section. |
| (4) |
When the agreement has been signed in terms of this section and has been accepted by the Surveyor-General, no diagram nor general plan of that piece of land or subdivision thereof shall thereafter be approved if it is not in accordance with the agreement. |
(5)
| (a) |
If any contiguous owner, or the holder of any real right who has been required by the Surveyor-General to sign the agreement, has failed to sign the agreement and has, within the period mentioned in any notice referred to in section 29(5), lodged with the Surveyor-General an objection to the terms of the agreement, the matter shall be laid before a commission constituted in terms of paragraph (b) for a description of the boundary in question: Provided that if the State is an objector or affected by the objection, the matter shall be settled by arbitration in terms of the Arbitration Act, 1965 (Act No. 2 of 1965). |
| (b) |
The commission referred to in paragraph (a) shall consist of an officer of the Department appointed in writing by the Director-General, the Surveyor-General (who shall be chairperson and who shall have a deliberative vote and, in the event of an equality of votes, also a casting vote), the Registrar of the deeds registry in which the land is registered, and one other member appointed by the Surveyor-General after consultation with the objector. |
| (c) |
The commission shall enquire into the case and shall furnish a description of the boundary in question according to the finding arrived at by the majority of the members after due consideration of all the documentary evidence available from the Surveyor-General’s and the deeds registry records and such other evidence, whether documentary or oral, as the commission may have deemed necessary. |
| (d) |
The owners or the holders of any real right affected by the agreement shall be notified by registered letter of the finding of the commission and if, within a period of 30 days after the posting of that letter (or in the case of an owner not at that time in South Africa, 60 days), any such owner or holder of a real right fails to lodge a formal written objection against the finding, and thereafter within a further period of 30 days to take steps to institute an action to determine the matter, that owner or holder of a real right shall be deemed to have consented to the description decided upon by the commission: Provided that if the Surveyor-General cannot readily ascertain the address of a contiguous owner or holder of a real right, the publication of the finding of the commission by notice in the prescribed manner shall for the purposes of this paragraph be sufficient notice to that owner or holder of a real right. Thereafter no diagram or general plan shall be approved which is not in accordance with the description. |
| (6) |
On the agreement coming into force, the diagrams and general plans of each property affected which are filed in the office of the Surveyor-General and in the deeds registry, and the owner’s copy thereof, when available, shall be endorsed accordingly. |
Public Service Commission Act, 1997
