How are business days counted for lease notice periods in South Africa?

The Consumer Protection Act defines a business day as any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday. Where the Act sets a number of business days between two events, you exclude the day on which the first event occurs and include the day on which the second occurs.

Two consequences catch people out. First, the count is not calendar arithmetic: twenty business days is at least four calendar weeks, and more whenever a public holiday intervenes. Second, the answer moves from year to year, because South African public holidays shift — Easter is calculated rather than fixed, and when a public holiday falls on a Sunday the following Monday is a public holiday under the Public Holidays Act 36 of 1994.

The high-risk clusters in the South African calendar are late March to April, where Human Rights Day, Good Friday and Family Day can land close together; the run from Freedom Day through Workers' Day at the end of April; and the stretch from Day of Reconciliation on 16 December through Christmas and the Day of Goodwill.

A deadline that lands on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday is rolled forward to the next business day. Counting backwards from a lease's termination date works the same way in reverse: you step back over non-business days without counting them.

Disclaimer: This is general information about South African lease-renewal procedure, not legal advice. Dates are calculated from the information you provide and from published public holidays. Check them against your lease and take your own legal advice before acting.