Can I take my satellite dish with?

I’VE just bought a flat, only to find out that the seller took the satellite dish attached to the building, with him. I was under the impression the dish forms part of the deal and must stay. Am I wrong? IT APPEARS that you and the seller may not be on the same page as to the satellite dish. You believe the dish forms part of the property and must stay behind, whilst the seller is of the view the dish is a moveable item which he is entitled to take with him. If the ownership of the satellite dish was not specifically addressed in the contract of sale, it unfortunately becomes a question of interpretation as to which of you has a right to the dish. According to our law a fixture is a moveable item that becomes a part of immovable property through being attached to the property.

However a satellite dish can be removed fairly easily and can be seen as an accessory to the portable satellite television decoder which is movable in nature.

The dish can also be used in another location, and therefore doesn’t qualify as an integral fixture to the immovable property.

That means a satellite dish can be removed by a seller, unless it is specifically prohibited in the contract of sale.

The question then, is how does one avoid these arguments between buyer and seller?

Because our law does not specifically regulate whether a dish can be removed or should remain following a sale of property, it’s important for avoiding later disputes that the parties to the sale determine in the contract of sale what should happen with the satellite dish.

● If the seller wants to remove the satellite dish and not leave it on the property, the seller should clearly disclose this fact to both the estate agent and the buyer to avoid any perception that the dish will remain.

● The contract of sale should also specifically regulate the fact that the dish is excluded from the contract of sale.

Where necessary, you can also get help from an estate agent or property specialist to correctly regulate the treatment of fixtures such as a satellite dish before any contract of sale is signed by the parties, and so avoid unnecessary disputes later.