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Rental Update - Amendments to the Rental Act |
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Important Amendments which rental agents and landlords should be aware of:
1. Chapter 3, clause 5. (3) b is the clause that states that receipts must be provided to the tenant with a list of details that should be reflected. The addition to this clause is that in exceptional cases the Tribunal, if approached, may exempt a landlord from providing receipts. You may not do this on your own because you will have to have written permission from the Tribunal to do so. It would probably apply in the case of Council housing where most of the tenants pay their rent through a local supermarket.
2. Chapter 3, clause 5.(3)p is a new clause and states that ‘any cost in relation to contract of lease shall only be payable by the tenant upon proof of factual expenditure by the landlord” This means that you have to be totally transparent and explain in figures how you reached the amount that you are charging for drawing up your lease agreement. You should list the amount of time that it has taken to fill out the lease, that time should have a cost to it either for yourself or the person who is completing the document, the cost of paper, printing and any other cost involved though not the cost of credit checks because this does not affect the lease cost. Note that if the tenant is not satisfied with the figures he can refuse to pay the amount.
3. Chapter 4 clause 13.12(c) is a new clause and states that the Tribunal can “issue spoliation and attachment orders and grant interdicts”. A spoliation order is a reactive response to restore a position to what it was e.g. if a tenant sells his possessions to prevent a landlord from attaching them to cover rent owing, a landlord can apply for a spoliation order to have the possessions put back in the rented property. An interdict is a pro-active action to prevent something from happening e.g. a landlord applies for an interdict to prevent his tenant from selling his possessions which the landlord wants to attach to cover outstanding rent. Both of these are interim measures as they are granted with a time limit. An attachment order is a legal application lodged to sell possessions to realize an amount to cover outstanding rent or costs for damages.
4. Chapter 4 clause 13.14 is a new clause and states that “The Tribunal does not have jurisdiction to hear applications for eviction orders”
5. Section 16 HA: A landlord must not ‘unlawfully lock out a tenant or shut off the utilities to the rental housing property. He will be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine or imprisonment not exceeding two years of to both such fine and such imprisonment” It has become a criminal offence to cut off water or electricity which may only be applied for in a court or from the Tribunal.
Electricity costs: Make sure that if you are charging electricity to a tenant that you cover yourselves by sending a copy of the original statement to the tenant so that they can see exactly how they are being charged. There was a case recently in the Tribunal where a landlord was charging tenants irregularly for electricity which amount he calculated according to a format which he decided was correct. His tenants did not ever receive an original statement. The tenants decided not to pay until they had seen a statement and were satisfied that the calculations were fair. The Tribunal ruled in favour of the tenants in terms of Unfair Practices Regulations Clause 8.3 a – g and the tenants were not required to pay the arrears as the landlord had not fulfilled the requirements of the act. Beware!!
We have a superb practical rentals course for estate agents AND landlords. If you are interested in attending the next one, please email Debbie Knipe at
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for the details.
Written by: Vivien Marks (Assessment Centre for Estate Agents) |
