Property Attorney

Our client, based in the lovely Paarl in Cape Town is seeking an Admitted Attorney to join the small team.

They are a South African independent tower company. We identify, secure, build, own and operate wireless telecommunications tower sites, which we lease to the mobile network operators — MTN, Vodacom, Telkom and RAIN. Our portfolio and pipeline extend to more than 3 000 sites across every province, from dense metro infill sites to rural coverage sites.

Operator (MNO) lease drafting and negotiation

• Draft and populate co-location and new-build sublease agreements per site off the group’s approved precedents for each operator, working from the operator’s application, site data and equipment schedules.
• Complete and check all annexures — site and property descriptions, title deed and erf details, GPS coordinates, ground-space and tower-space drawings, equipment and wind-loading schedules, and the rental and overage calculations that flow from them.
• Manage revisions and version control through to signature, and track the status of every lease in circulation.
• Negotiate operator mark-ups and deviations from the standard terms, escalating commercial trade-offs to the Head of Legal and the directors with a clear recommendation.

• Maintain and improve the precedent bank and drafting notes so that the standard position is consistent across operators and sites.

2. Ground lease due diligence

• Conduct due diligence on ground leases and option agreements: verify the landowner’s title and authority to contract, the property description against the title deed and diagram, the lease term, renewal and escalation mechanics, and — critically — the rights to erect the structure, to sublet to operators and to grant access and servitudes.
• Identify defects, rank them by severity, and either mark the lease valid or refer it back to the landowner or the acquisition team to be remedied and re-submitted.
• Record every due diligence outcome accurately in the group’s site management system so that operations and finance can rely on it.
• Prepare clear risk notes where the directors are asked to authorise proceeding to construction notwithstanding an unresolved defect.
• Attend to deeds office searches, servitude registration, notarial deeds and consents in conjunction with external conveyancers where registration is required.

3. Landlord and property portfolio management

• Draft and negotiate new ground leases, renewals, extensions, addenda, cessions and consents.
• Issue landlord commencement letters and manage the correspondence that triggers the start of rental payment obligations.
• Deal with changes of landowner, property transfers, deceased estates, sectional title and body corporate issues, municipal landowners and communal or traditional authority land.
• Advise the business on escalation, rates and utility recovery and other lease-driven cost items.

4. Regulatory, permitting and statutory compliance

• Track and advise on the permitting position of each site — Civil Aviation Authority approvals, environmental authorisations, consent use and rezoning approvals, and approved building plans — in conjunction with the operations and construction teams.
• Liaise with municipalities, town planners, environmental practitioners and consultants on applications, conditions of approval and appeals; advise on the legal risk of building ahead of a pending approval.
• Attend to enforcement notices, objections and compliance queries relating to existing structures.
• Monitor legislative and regulatory developments affecting telecommunications infrastructure, land use and property, and brief the business on their practical implications.

5. Corporate, governance and group legal matters

• Handle company secretarial work for the group entities: resolutions, CIPC filings, director and shareholder records, and the delegation of authority framework.
• Maintain the group contracts register and ensure signed originals are properly executed, dated and filed.
• Support corporate transactions — sale of business and portfolio acquisitions, cessions and delegations of contracts and utility accounts, and post-closing implementation.
• Support financing workstreams and lender due diligence, including development finance institution requirements such as ESG and environmental and social questionnaires and action plans.
• Attend to compliance obligations including POPIA, B-BBEE, insurance and health and safety documentation.

6. Supplier, contractor and dispute management

• Draft and review construction, supplier, service and consultancy agreements, purchase terms and non-disclosure agreements.
• Attend to letters of demand, breach notices and debt recovery, and manage landlord, contractor and operator disputes.
• Instruct, brief and manage external attorneys and counsel, and control external legal spend.

• LLB degree from a recognised university.
• Admitted as an attorney of the High Court of South Africa.
• Approximately 3 to 6 years’ post-qualification experience, with a substantial portion in commercial property, leasing or property-related litigation or conveyancing.
• Demonstrable, high-quality contract drafting ability — you will be asked to complete a drafting exercise as part of the selection process.
• Advanced Microsoft Word skills (styles, cross-references, comparison and track changes) and comfort working in Excel and document management systems.
• Exceptional attention to detail and the discipline to keep it up across a high volume of near-identical documents.
• Ability to work independently, manage a large matter load and meet commercial deadlines without being chased.
• Valid driver’s licence and own reliable transport; willingness to travel occasionally to sites and to operator offices.
• Fluency in English; the ability to work in Afrikaans is an advantage given our landowner base.

Basic Salary between R30k - R35k

If you are interested please send your CV, copy of ID, recent payslip, qualification to Sign in to view email

It will be ideal if you stay in Paarl or surrounded area