The legalities of paying rent when locked out of your premises due to force majeure

Parallel to the panic induced by Covid-19 in recent months has been the rising fear felt by individuals and business owners regarding their contractual obligations, or rather their looming inability to follow through on these obligations. In a bid to find relief, attention has been drawn to the legal provision force majeure, which translates literally as “superior strength” and refers to extraordinary events and calamities which render the performance of contractual obligations objectively impossible. What has previously been merely glossed over by contracting parties, is now more relevant than ever to South Africans desperate to obtain some relief in these harrowing times. In this interview with Alec Hogg, Philip Geromont, executive at ENSafrica, provides a clearer understanding of this provision and its application to commercial rental contracts in South Africa. - Nadya Swart