2.1 Klos & Klos
Maureen. L. Klos and Tamara. A. Klos. (2012). The Landlord’s Right to Consumer Protection. International Journal of Law, Language & Discourse 2(1), 95-105.
Abstract: In this article, the authors discuss how the meaning of the term “consumer” can influence the controversial legal ramifications of the use of this term in the particular situation of the South African rental housing market. Semantic knowledge may provide understanding of a term like “consumer” that is embedded in a specific law such as the South African Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008. The interpretation of a term can enter the realm of specialist knowledge, like that of particular legal domains for example. However, the legal meaning of “consumer” has connotations in a South African context that differs from its general denotative legal meaning. Thus, the authors contend that the general legal meaning should be scrutinized with a view to enriching the legal meaning of the term as it is particularly interpreted in a South African context. This analysis may benefit landlords, whose rights as consumers are currently not acknowledged in the context of the South African rental housing market. In fact, in the context of the South African Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999, only the tenant is viewed as a consumer. An analysis of meaning of the term may reveal that the landlord may also be defined as a consumer.
Keywords: legal semantics, landlord and tenant, consumer, economic good, protection
Category: Volume 2
