Widow wins R500 000 property deposit after nine-year battle

A Gauteng widow has won a High Court order requiring a Johannesburg law firm to repay the R500 000 property deposit she and her late husband paid towards a family home after the money remained in a trust account for almost nine years. The ruling brings a lengthy legal dispute over the failed property sale to an end.

According to SAFLII Acting Judge Madima of the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg ruled that Maseko Tilana Inc had no lawful basis for continuing to withhold the deposit after the sale collapsed. In Pama-Sihunu v Maseko Tilana Inc and Another, the court ordered the firm to repay the funds, provide proof to both the court and the Legal Practice Council that the money remains in its trust account and pay attorney-and-client costs.

The dispute began in June 2017 when the couple agreed to buy a Randburg property for R1.9 million while renting the home. They paid a R500 000 deposit and secured a mortgage bond for the remaining purchase price. The transfer never took place after the seller cancelled the agreement.

Following the family’s eviction, the widow sought repayment of the deposit. The law firm argued that it could not release the funds because of separate legal proceedings over alleged occupational rent and challenged her legal standing.

Judge Madima rejected those arguments, finding that she had a direct legal interest in recovering the deposit. The judgment states there was ‘no valid justification’ for withholding the trust money while related litigation remained inactive for years. The court also criticised what it described as a ‘Stalingrad strategy’ aimed at frustrating the administration of justice.

The widow’s separate claim for R81 854.22 in transfer fees was not decided, with the court finding that issue must be resolved through separate proceedings.