In the recent case of Mount Edgecombe Country Club Estate Management Association II (RF) NPC v Singh & Others, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) overturned the decision of a lower court confirming a speeding fine may not be imposed by the Home Owners Association of a Private Estate.

A Private Estate can loosely be defined as a voluntary association not for gain, which is enclosed with various private houses with access being restricted to the general public via security guards and/or systems, which permits and/or denies access to the estate.

Aidan Kenny, Director and property law specialist at Werksmans Attorneys, said: "These Private Estates normally have various rules which govern day to day living of the residents in the estate, for example nuisance, noise pollution and speed limits on the roads."

In the lower court, the court held the road was a public road and subject to the National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996 and hence a speeding fine could not be imposed on the resident.

"The SCA examined the definition of a "public road" however and concluded that the road in such estate is not open to the public in general and hence cannot be regarded as a public road. The court further held even if the road is not a private road, then the imposition of a fine is governed by the "contractual relationship" between the residents and the estate, as the residents agree to be bound by the rules of the estate, " Kenny added.

Due to the fact that a contractual relationship exist, the court held a third party speeding in the estate will not incur the fine, but the resident will incur the fine, as the resident assumes responsibility for the action of their visitors.

Private Estates can there impose fines on residents in respect of speedsters, who exceed the speed limit, which fine is legally enforceable, provided there is a maximum speed limit in the Private Estate and that the correct procedure is followed by the estate for the imposition of the fine.