2010/07/29 02:04:19 PM
Topic:
Tshwane electricity - tenant in arrears
Nico
Posts: 1
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I have a tenant who moved out 1 month after moving in (on a 12 month contract). She repainted the property in her own colours, doing a very messy job of it (without my consent). She also caused other damage, such as a broken bedroom door, a broken gate and a broken bathroom tap.
Altogether the damages is much higher than her deposit. My problem now is that she's about R1600 in arrears on her electricity bill, and the municipality refuses to transfer the electricity to the new tenant's name until the previous tenant paid her bill. Also, they now threaten to transfer her arrears bill to my name.
Any advise? Can I pay the bill now, and claim what I paid back from her? If I can, should I include both the bill and my proof-of-payment in the letter of arrears (assuming I can send one to her), and can I blacklist her if she doesn't pay?
Can I include the rest of the repair costs in the letter of demand? The repair costs are high, as she repainted the whole unit, including door frames, window sills, and almost all the walls. The only places she didn't paint was where she couldn't reach.
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2010/07/29 09:32:02 AM
Topic:
Advice for leaving lease early
Niri
Posts: 1
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Hi Guys
I know this question must be asked a thoouussaand times :-) Apologies for repeating myself but I need to explain my scenario and get some advice.
I moved into a property in a very well know Golf Estate in Northriding on 1 February 2010, and on occupation noted damp in the ceiling during the handover. We have rented through managing agents. A month later, the ceilling was leaking(grnd floor unit) buckets of water and we notified the man agents and they said it was the developers problem. Since then, the developers have been to the unit 5 times to fix the leak. During the period, curtain rails could not be installed in the lounge due to the problems of leaks . We have been living without any curtains for 6 months.
Also, there is so much damp in the unit that water collects on the window sills daily, resulting in mould growing in the unit and on the sills. We have to wipe this every evening when we get home. Also the walls in the bedrooms and lounge are turning black due to the moisture in the unit. Being a grnd floor, and having thefts recently in the complex, i would never chance leaving a window open whilst we sleep. Also, bedding and pillows that were stored in the 2nd bedroom cupboards have also started to turn mouldy.
Thing is i have been begging the managing agents to come and look at the property since Feb. They finally came end of June, and i have it in writing that they emailed the developer saying the conditions we are living in is “unliveable” and need to be fixed. In writing. They have been giving us the run around since occupation and the developers have been 5 times to fix the leak, nothing works as there is a problem in the construction where the ceiling meets the windows. They put silicone and cement and it never resolves the issue.
The advice on the website was that the landlord must maintain a property fit for let. This is clearly not the case, and after speaking to the foreman, this unit has had problems prior to us moving in. We took over the previous tenant’s lease after they stayed only 3 months. I consider this a material breach as the leak in the lounge resulted in us moving our TV out of the way and placing couches away from the leaking ceiling. Also the unit was built on swamp land and we were informed by the painters and foreman that many units in that precint has the same problems as us.
Last month i gave notice that i will be moving out end August due to the problems not being resolved. I also mentioned to the managing agents that we will gladly move to another of the owners units in the complex and continue with the lease. We are not looking to stuff anyone around, but also we are not going to be held ransom where we are because we signed a lease. The place is now getting mouldy again after the last re-paint.
What recourse do i have? I have tons of pictures of the problems(leaks, mould, damp and paint peeling off the walls), and emails to the managing agents that never go answered. Up until now, i have never withheld rent whatsoever. Can the landlord blacklist me for this or take legal action against me? Do i forfeit my deposit?
Thanks for any assistance!
PS: I am also a landlord currently renting out my place, so i understand from both sides of the coin how things are. If my tenant was going through this i would have definitely tried to resolve it soonest.
edited by Niri on 2010/07/29
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2010/07/26 11:57:03 AM
Topic:
Sub divided and rented
lpwc
Posts: 3
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Michelle wrote:
Why does the council want you to evict the tenants?
They say that the property is zoned single residential and therefore has to be rezoned to general residential. however it takes +-3 years to get rezoning so property must be empty while i wait for rezoning.
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2010/07/26 11:55:08 AM
Topic:
Sub divided and rented
lpwc
Posts: 3
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They say that the property is zoned single residential and therefore has to be rezoned to general residential. however it takes +-3 years to get rezoning so property must be empty while i wait for rezoning.
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2010/07/26 09:22:44 AM
Topic:
Sub divided and rented
Michelle
Posts: 86
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Why does the council want you to evict the tenants?
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2010/07/25 09:34:46 PM
Topic:
ADVICE ON RPL FOR PRINCIPALS
Shar
Posts: 5
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I am finding it difficult to decide which of the accredited colleges to apply to. If anybody has already done this please tell me of your experiences?
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2010/07/25 08:16:17 PM
Topic:
Sub divided and rented
lpwc
Posts: 3
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I subdivided my house and rented it out to tenants, now the council wants me to evict the tenants.
what can i do?
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2010/07/21 07:59:23 AM
Topic:
rates for inner city
ekinsey01
Posts: 2
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Hi Marcl
The amount is not so important. Whats more important to me is the fact that I can't get through to them to register/pay. now I'm afraid that an arrears account is starting to stack up in my name.
Regards
ed
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2010/07/21 12:51:30 AM
Topic:
Late Rent SMSs
marcl
Posts: 25
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I also would love to see this bush law. It does not exist. For ease of wording I would say the rent must be reflected on owners account and be available to owner in full on the due date. If the bank needs 2 days to get it there tenant needs to pay it 2 days before. If tenant pays by cheque and it takes 7 days to clear than tenant needs to pay it 7 days before due date. It is the tenants responsibility to get the rent to the owner/agent in time. It is really that simple.
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2010/07/21 12:32:36 AM
Topic:
Early termination of lease agreement
marcl
Posts: 25
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You have to stick to notice period in the lease unless negotiated otherwise. The way I understand it owner has given you 2m notice as per lease and you can move after those 2m. If you want to shorten that and your notice period is also 2m you have no right to shorten it, but if you ask nicely and reason it your owner might comply as he could e.g. possibly negotiate an earlier transfer date with Buyer.
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2010/07/21 12:28:45 AM
Topic:
COMMISSION FOR PLACEMENT
marcl
Posts: 25
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I agree, the agent cannot charge the same fee for this as they would have for full property management. Less work, same fee...? I would suggest 6-7% of total lease value. Make sure you know what is expected from agent if this placed tenant renews the lease once or more than once.
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2010/07/21 12:23:16 AM
Topic:
What is a reasonable annual rent increase for 2010
marcl
Posts: 25
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So you charge the 5/10% regardless of market rentals and/or economic climate?
If initial rental was low (e.g. bottom end of market value) for some reason (e.g. oversupply of a new development going online) then increase should be maybe more than 5% and vice versa.
How much renewal fee do you ask the tenant every 6 months?
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2010/07/21 12:13:35 AM
Topic:
Rights of landlord
marcl
Posts: 25
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I would say it depends on what your lease says under breach and follow the procedure whatever it says there.
That you had to pay the bond is not the tenants problem. You would have to pay it with or without a tenant. However, you obviously stopped marketing the place after lease was signed and deposit was paid. Now they are in breach and if not remedied you should claim damages in respect of lost rent until you have found a new tenant. E.g. if that takes 2 weeks, you keep half.
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2010/07/20 11:57:23 PM
Topic:
Evicting a Tenant (The commercial decision)
marcl
Posts: 25
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Hi Jan
Sounds all very true, but please explain why legal costs in scenario 2 are double than scenario 1?
If one is not successful with attaching goods and tenant is clever enough to vanish on various monitoring tools like credit bureaus what are the chances to find tenant and go after him e.g. attaching his salary if he has one in the 30 years the judgement is valid for?
How long is a piece of string I know. I tried 2 people finding my clever tenant on a no success, no fee basis, but they gave up quickly without any results an dafter I paid them some fees like tracing reports or whatever they are called.
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2010/07/20 11:47:54 PM
Topic:
rates for inner city
marcl
Posts: 25
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Ed, did you ask the estate agents e.g. Mamela, Down Town Properties? When ever I was given a figure it was something like R50-R100 Rand in those areas. However, I guess they much have gazetted that somewhere as Cape Town has.
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2010/07/19 05:28:05 PM
Topic:
Evicting a Tenant (The commercial decision)
Jan Ehlers Attorneys
Posts: 1
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Advising a Landlord on evicting a tenant is no easy task as legal costs are high and in most instances a grudge purchase.
In order to provide a Landlord with perspective we offer the following case study for consideration and debate:
Our case study is based on a low rental income of R3500.00 p.m.
The case study is further based on the following assumptions:
In most instances a Landlord will consider eviction only once the tenant is 3 or more months in arrears.
In most instances a tenant that is in rental default are unable to service his other debts as rental covers a basic need in housing and is usually one of the fist monthly payments to be made.
The defaulting tenant therefore will in most instances be unable to recover from a rental shortfall and will further start to default on utility accounts such as water and electricity accounts.
In most instances even when judgement for the outstanding debt is obtained the tenant is unable to satisfy same and upon execution no executable property is found.
(These assumptions is based on our firms experience in this market)
Scenario 1
The landlord calls the tenant daily for one moth to pressure the tenant into paying.
The landlord decides not to evict immediately but start legal action to recover the outstanding amount.
It takes two months to obtain judgement and execute on the tenant’s immovable property.
Upon execution the tenant indicate the property belong to a 3rd party and therefore can not be attached.
Landlord loss:
Month 1 R3500
Month 2 R3500
Month 3 R3500
Month 4 (call) R3500
Telephone charges R200
Month 5 (Legal) R3500
Month 6 (Legal) R3500
Legal costs R5 000
______
Total R26 200
(Tenant still in property)
(Utilities bill outstanding to be added)
Scenario 2
Landlord act immediately and start eviction proceedings.
Seven days after non payment a letter of demand and cancelation is sent via registered post.
Seven days further the eviction process commences and takes one month to finalize.
The tenant is evicted after one more month as the court granted a month for the tenant to find alternative accommodation.
Landlord loss:
Month 1 (Eviction process) R3500
Month 2 (Eviction process) R3500
Month 3 ((Eviction process) R3500
Legal costs R10 000
______
Total R20500
(Tenant out of property)
(Utilities bill outstanding to be added)
It is important to note that eviction mediates the Landlords potential damages however the landlord still have all other remedies and can therefore still take judgement against the tenant for all amounts outstanding.
It is further important to note that a tenant claiming that goods belong to a 3rd party need to prove same and this allegation can be opposed, in most instances the opposition is successful and the goods can be sold and damages recovered.
An order for legal costs are usually obtained, which may reduced legal costs.
The point of this article is simply to show the advantage of evicting a tenant without delay and all legal costs used is rough estimates.
This scenario is further based on the worst case and a tenant might pay after the letter of demand and cancelation, alternatively abscond which will reduce all costs
There is a saying in the law “once cancelled always cancelled”, meaning that once the Agreement of Lease is cancelled a new agreement will have to be concluded, in the alternative the agreement will continue on the same terms and conditions but on a monthly basis.
Arno Jansen van Vuuren
JAN EHLERS ATTORNEYS
082 373 1309
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2010/07/19 02:58:37 PM
Topic:
Rights of landlord
Shana
Posts: 1
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Hi
I advertised my house. A lease was signed. The prospective tenants signed a lease. They paid the deposit. I told them they can move in when I receive the month's rent. I waited a few days and they did not come up with the money.
At this point, to save myself from bad paying tenants I told them I'd rather not have them move into my house. Do I have any claim on the deposit as because they did not honour their agreement I have to pay the bond for the month?
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2010/07/16 09:57:46 AM
Topic:
National Credit Act
Michelle
Posts: 86
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1. Lease of immovable property is not regarded as a service in the National Credit Act (NCA). NCA Section 8 (2) (b) specifically states the lease of immovable property is not a credit agreement. Therefore for the most part the NCA does not regulate leases. However, when the estate agent or landlord makes use of a credit bureau, they then need to comply with the NCA. For example getting the consent of the tenant prior to performing a credit check on the tenant. Or giving the tenant 20 business days notice of intention to blacklist.
2. If the estate agent is holding the deposit, the deposit must be held in the estate agents trust account.
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2010/07/16 09:37:48 AM
Topic:
Carte Blanche Consumer - Non Paying Tenants
Michelle
Posts: 86
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I did see the Carte Blanche storey. I really thought a bit more investigation should have gone into the storey. TPN have contacted Carte Blanche to suggest a follow up about Solutions to Tenants from Hell. It might be helpful if other estate agents could comment on Carte Blanche's website.
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2010/07/15 05:06:30 PM
Topic:
Refunding the Tenant's Deposit
mjwthorne
Posts: 12
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Yes you should, if you found a replacement tenant and suffered no loss you have to pay back, you cannot enrich yourself at the expense of the tenant.
If you suffered some loss then you would be able to deduct that cost from the deposit, was there repairs, was the water paid, power, clean and so on, as long as you can provide evidence that you have suffered that loss, then you can deduct from the deposit and pay the balance back with an invoice to the tenant, if you can contact the tenant.
You could after giving the tenant written notice, place the tenant on TPN as a absconding tenant and warn others about him, and I would do this.
Mike JW Thorne, CEA, MIEA, CRS (USA) Landlords
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