Leading property developer Stuart Chait is squaring up to the V&A Waterfront which alleges he owes more than R5m in unpaid rent and interest.

‘We confirm that an application for Mr Chait’s sequestration has been issued,’ V&A spokesperson Donald Kau said this week. ‘We further confirm that Mr Chait has vacated the premises.’

The Sunday Times reports that Chait also faces eviction from his Clifton home after a company bought the home at a sheriff’s auction this year.

The sequestration battle caps a torrid few years for a developer with a track record of stellar projects, including Melrose Arch in Johannesburg, Stonehurst Estate in Cape Town and Nettleton Road in Clifton.

His Land Equity company has since floundered in a credit crunch brought about largely by economic recession and Covid.

The Waterfront’s application, filed at the Western Cape High Court, stems from a 2020 settlement agreement with Land Equity, which occupied the second floor of Merchant House in Dock Road.

The V&A’s corporate services executive Renee Dente said Chait had not honoured the agreement and the debt had spiralled to more than R5m.

Chait’s spokesperson, Kaveer Beharee, said Chait was unable to comment ‘as all these matters are sub judice’. 

But court applications, whether sequestration or eviction, should be viewed within the context of parties employing legal strategies ‘to defend or advance their positions’, he is quoted as saying in the Sunday Times.

‘In any commercial lease agreement, when two parties have a commercial dispute, any party has the right to bring about any application they deem necessary to advance their position. Whether this is an eviction application or sequestration application is irrelevant,’ Beharee said.

Full Sunday Times report (subscription needed)