If your local authority fails to maintain the verges and a verge fire destroys your property you can sue
FIRES
Sidewalk grass fires: Do you have recourse?
If your local authority fails to maintain the verges and a verge fire destroys your property you can sue
While you may have taken care to prepare your plot for the winter fire season, what happens if your local authority neglects to do the same to the verges that surround you, allowing the grass to remain uncut? And what happens if the said uncut verges catch fire, and that fire jumps you firebreak, burns out your field and, let ' s say, burns down your barn or, worse, your house? For, the National Veld & Forest Fires Act is quite clear on this if a property owner( or occupier) neighbour should neglect to carry out his responsibilities with regard to fire prevention, and a fire spreads from his property to yours. If you have made“ reasonable preparations” of firebreaks etc, and have taken“ reasonable precautions” to prevent the fire from spreading, including the“ reasonable” provision of equipment and personnel ~ in other words if you have done your bit in terms of the law ~ and a fire from a neighbour ' s land destroys your property, you have a very good chance of winning a claim against him. But what happens if the negligent party is a municipality or a local authority? The good news is you have a claim against the authority in much the same way that you do against an individual. Leading environmental legal expert Douw Venter explains:“ The pillars of our
law on delict stand on the omissions( failure) with regards to mandate of municipalities. Municipalities which fail to maintain their streets, for instance, are responsible for consequential damage and or injuries which can be related to the poor conditions of roads( potholes, etc).“ Municipalities who fail to properly treat their drinking water can be held responsible for disease related to such water. There are many examples.“ Municipalities are legally obliged to maintain their roads, sidewalks and parks and are responsible for consequential damage as a result of fire damage to property or lives.“ Where fire spreads from a sidewalk where the grass was not cut resulting in your house burning down, the municipality is, in terms of our law on delict, responsible for such loss.“ There is much case law confirming this.” However, Venter points out that the case would need to be fought in the High Court, and litigation is expensive, with no guarantee of a successful outcome.
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