Prescription Act 68 of 1969

Status of this file: structured summary of the cited provisions.

s 11 — Periods of prescription of debts

The relevant prescription periods for debts are:

• (a) 30 years — debts secured by mortgage bond, judgment debts, debts in respect of taxation, and debts owed to the State for any share of profits, royalties or any similar consideration
• (b) 15 years — debt owed to the State and arising from a loan of money, or sale or lease of land
• (c) 6 years — debts arising from bills of exchange, other negotiable instruments, and notarial contracts
• (d) 3 years — any other debt (the “ordinary” prescription period)

s 12 — When prescription begins to run

s 12(1): Prescription commences as soon as the debt is due.

s 12(3): A debt is not deemed to be due until the creditor has knowledge of the identity of the debtor and of the facts from which the debt arises, or could have acquired such knowledge by exercising reasonable care. Important for latent defects — the prescription clock may not start until the consumer reasonably ought to have known of the defect.

Site reliance

The aedilitian remedies (actio redhibitoria, actio quanti minoris) are contractual claims and prescribe under s 11(d) — three years from when the cause of action arose, or from when the consumer could reasonably have acquired knowledge (s 12(3)).

This is the basis for the deep-dive’s “3-year window after the CPA runs out” framing — see citations/cases/Phame-Paizes-1973.md, Dibley-Furter-1951.md, and Glaston-House-Inag-1977.md for the substantive aedilitian rules.

Verbatim text

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