Nedbank, one of South Africa’s largest banking groups, has secured approval from the Johannesburg High Court to proceed with the forced sale of a residential property owned by Althea Mathekga in Gauteng, after a judge ruled that her mounting mortgage arrears and inability to meet repayment obligations justified execution.

Acting Judge Iles ruled on November 11, 2026, that the reserve price for the 150-square-metre property in Stretford Extension 1, south of Johannesburg, should be reduced to R180,000 ($10,734) from R255,000 ($15,208). The property serves as Mathekga’s primary residence and also accommodates a small guesthouse business she established in 2022.

Nedbank reduces reserve price after failed auction

The ruling follows an unsuccessful auction on November 21, 2024, when 22 registered bidders attended but none submitted an offer meeting the R255,000 ($15,208) reserve price. Nedbank subsequently returned to court seeking permission to lower the threshold and arrange another auction.

The bank’s mortgage claim has increased substantially since an October 2023 default judgment awarded it R403,033.70 ($24,037), with interest accruing at 11.35% annually. By October 1, 2026, the outstanding mortgage balance had reached R737,950.41 ($44,010), while arrears stood at R291,808.94 ($17,403).

Although the property was valued at R550,000 ($32,795) in August 2026, above its municipal valuation of R450,000 ($26,827), accumulated municipal charges of R142,394.01 ($8,489) have further weakened its financial position.

Guesthouse business fails to ease mortgage arrears

Mathekga opposed the application, asking the court for additional time to negotiate a restructuring of the loan. She told the court that her backpackers-style accommodation business received bookings through Airbnb and Booking.com and generated additional income through food sales to guests.

She argued that extending the loan term and reducing the interest rate would allow the business to generate sufficient income to meet her mortgage obligations.

However, the court found that the venture was not producing enough revenue to service the debt. Between March and September 2026, Mathekga paid R16,500 ($984) towards the mortgage, while interest and fees of approximately R54,190 ($54,190) accrued over the same period.

Her proposed weekly payments of between R700 ($41.72) and R1,200 ($71.54) were also considered inadequate to address arrears approaching R292,000 ($17,408). The judge noted that the outstanding balance had risen from the original R298,360 ($17,780.92) loan granted in 2016 to approximately R738,000 ($43,982).

Court retains safeguards ahead of property sale

Iles rejected Mathekga’s request to set aside the executability order or postpone the auction, finding that further delays would increase the debt and potentially deepen the financial shortfall remaining after the sale.

The court nevertheless retained safeguards governing the execution process. If the property fails to attract a bid of at least R180,000 ($10,728), the sheriff may offer it without a reserve at the same auction and provisionally accept the highest offer. Any such sale, however, will require court confirmation.

Nedbank must also submit an updated property valuation, mortgage statement and municipal account, giving Mathekga an opportunity to challenge the proposed sale price.

The judge further confirmed that Mathekga could still prevent the execution sale by settling the arrears, permitted default charges and reasonable enforcement costs before the property is sold.

Mathekga was ordered to pay Nedbank’s legal costs on the attorney-and-client scale, as stipulated in the mortgage bond, excluding costs linked to the bank’s application for condonation of its late replying affidavit.