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January 2010
Dear Rental Readers
A warm wish for the New Year that your rental problems are minimal and your commissions maximum! By now most of you should be most experienced and handling your problems with ease.
World Cup Renting
Renting during the 2010 World Cup is the buzz word in the rental world. I urge you to be cautious and to make all inquiries necessary before renting to soccer fans. Keep in mind that we have a short term lease which is available from Debbie for R50. Email her at
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There will be a seminar on 29 January 2010 at the Pinelands Library at 09H30 during which 2010 letting will also be discussed. Come along and get some tips!
Termination of Leases during Xmas
There have been innumerable problems over the Christmas period with landlords trying to get tenants out of properties and tenants objecting to having to move during the most festive time of the calendar. My suggestion for the future is that you do not have a termination date on 31 December but rather arrange for the 30 November or 31 January the following year. This will mean that you may have an 11 month lease or a 13 month lease but it will certainly give you great peace of mind as well as an opportunity of enjoying the holiday season yourself.
Paper trail
Those who have attended my training courses will know how important it is to establish a good paper trail so that if a tenant lodges a case for an unfair practice, you are well prepared. If you make any promises, send the tenant confirmation of exactly what you arranged, if you extend tenancy even for a day, confirm it, if the tenant has to move out at a particular time, confirm it. All this becomes evidence which is regarded as something concrete in a court instead of loose verbal arrangements which are only regarded as hearsay. There is only one good way of conducting a good rental relationship - follow the Rental Housing Act to the letter and collect every bit of evidence in writing that you can. Our next Rental Act seminar is on 26 February 2010.
Cases
Case 1: The Complainant had been renting a town house in a newly developed complex where no individual water meters had been installed. The Landlord billed the Tenant on a monthly basis for R200 for water used in the gardens of the complex but not for his personal use. When the Tenant vacated the town house at the end of 18 months the Landlord retained his deposit saying it was for water to the unit which still had to be charged for by the City Council. Eight months later the Tenant was still waiting for his deposit of R7 000 and was told that the City Council had still not sent the necessary statements. The Tenant lodged a claim at the Tribunal for non refund of deposit. The ruling in this case was that the deposit had to be refunded to the Tenant as it had been withheld unfairly. It was not the fault of the Tenant that the Landlord had not been billed for water during his tenancy. The ruling emphasized that the Landlord should have charged the Tenant an estimated amount on a monthly basis with the agreement that an adjustment could be made when the Landlord was finally billed. It was also noted that the Landlord had never contacted the City Council in two years to inquire about the fact that no charge for water had been received but waited until the summons to the Tribunal was received.
The moral of the story? As agents you must make reasonable provision at the time of letting for the charging of services should you let a unit in a new development even if the council or municipality concerned does not have the complex listed on their database. A deposit must be refunded according to the RH Act i.e. within either 7 or 14 days. A separate services deposit may be retained until the final account is received the following month and the balance refunded a.s.a.p. Communication with the tenant in these matters is essential. Keep in mind that the deposit belongs to the tenant not to the landlord.
Case 2: The Complainant lodged a claim for non refund of deposit. He had signed a lease for 12 months for flat number 10 XYZ Court, but for work reasons had to move out after 6 months. The Landlord agreed to his moving out only if the Tenant found a suitable replacement tenant. The Tenant advertised and a number of prospective tenants applied. The Landlord however referred them to another flat as he had earmarked Number 10 for a long standing tenant living in number 8. The Tenant moved out and handed the keys to the long standing tenant who was already moving in her possessions. The Landlord retained the deposit as he maintained that flat number 8 was not let. Having put in his own tenant into number 10 he expected the original Tenant to replace the tenant in number 8! The Tribunal did not allow this. The original Tenant in number 10 was only concerned with a replacement for his flat and once there was one he believed there was no loss of rental to the Landlord and that his obligation had been fulfilled. The Tribunal agreed and ruled that the deposit had to be refunded. A Landlord may not enrich himself by taking two lots of rental for one month which was the case here - this is known as undue enrichment.
General
Services and products:
For your convenience we have:
| RentalKeeper |
A simple rental database which is a great help to rental agents: This can be downloaded from our website for a 14 day trial period. R1800.00 |
| Agreement of Lease |
R50 |
| Short Term Agreement of Lease |
R50 |
| Management Agreement |
R30 |
| Lease Review |
R250 (Lease aligned to the Rental Act) |
| Seminars / Workshops / Courses / Corporate Training |
The best of luck to you all during this New Year!
Yours in rentals,
Vivien & Debbie
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