2010/06/25 01:00:35 PM
mjwthorne
Posts: 12
|
According to the rental housing act No 50 of 1991, and if you do not have a copy go on the net and look for it, or go to www.eaab.org and look for the acts there. It tells you in a nut shell that the owner is due his rent on time.
1. Rent not received on time, act eminently do not delay. Phone, email, sms, and fax a request to his work place (they love everyone to know that they have not paid their rent).
2. If rent is due on the 1st and not received on the 2nd send Letters of Demand by registered mail, how that works is that the law deems that it has been received within 4 days, then they have 7 days to react, making 11 days.
3. If you hand deliver, make sure that you have a witness to the Letters of Demand being given to the tenant, do not put it under the door, will not work, (the dog chewed up, the children through it away or whatever) you need proof, all parties to sign as witness, if they refuse to, that is fine make a note you and the witness sign. Keep a paper trail.
4. The 11 days have passed, still no rent, send a letter cancelling the Agreement to Lease, (if you want to cancel, I would) now it gets to the dirty work.
5. You can either go to the Housing Tribunal and wait a long time for all the paper work back and forward, or cut through the chase and get a very good litigation attorney (not a family friend, or a transferring attorney a litigation attorney) and one who knows the house act, you will be surprised how many attorneys know very little about the house act, and as an agent I am pleased to say over the years I have beaten them in court as they did not know the act or the law in regards to the housing act.
6. My suggestion is to use the PIE, (prevention of illegal eviction), and this can start right after the 11 days has lapsed.
7. Take the original Agreement to Lease, keep a copy for yourself, Letters of Demand and proof that it was received by the tenant or sent via registered mail, the amount owed, and it must be accurate, don’t inflate it, and remember it can only be for rent. The attorney should take action the same day or the next day.
8. What happens is that a summons is sent to the tenant and the tenant has 7 days to respond, if they do not which is the best, a court date is set, then after that a eviction date is given, the best is that they will be out the following month, but act do not delay.
9. You can in connection with the PIE, if you really want to hit them hard and what to hurt, you can do a Section 32 which is an attachment and removable of their property, very good if they have a lot of valuable property in the property, and a very much attached to it.
10. How does it work, again take everything to the attorney, in the morning on a Friday and there is big game on that night, and it is the end of the month and the fridge is full, maxim effect. The attorney will go to the magistrate (different areas work different ways, but the process is the same, your attorney will be able to fill you in) the magistrate will issue an attachment and removable order, the sheriff of the court will then go to the property, if no one is at home all the better, the sheriff will open up the property and remove, Fridge minus contents, washing machine, hi-fi and all speakers, TV, computers, dish washer, dryer, un fixed cupboards. All will be removed and stored in the sheriffs warehouse.
11. The tenant can only get this back if he pays for what is owed, including the sheriffs cost, and the nice thing he has to arrange to transport it back to his house.
12. If the tenant does not come up with the money, and order is given to sell and after the sheriff and the attorney takes their cost you receive the balance.
|