2011/10/07 10:24:02 AM Andre Scholtz Posts: 3	Hi fellow landlords, I would like to share some of the experiences I am having with my current tenants. They both work for a large corporate company with stable income. They moved into my house in Boksburg on 03 October 2010 through a letting agent that became dodgy - same agent did not manage the previous tenants well. I got rid of the rental agent in November 2011 after the full rent amount was not paid over to me. I defaulted on not providing a new lease agreement between them and myself although they are still holding this lease agreement as legal. There is no personal details of the tenants or correct erven number on the lease agreement. The agent signed on their behalf and on the agents behalf. I did not sign this document at all. Rental - Rent for Oct 10 and Nov 10 was paid to the agent, but the Nov 10 amount was not paid to me in full by the agent therefore I decided to deal directly with the tenants. The tenants paid for Dec 10 but paid me me short R 2000 in January 2011 without advising why. I was only told telephonically on 19 Jan 11 that they will catch up on this amount by paying me R 300 per month until it is paid up. I had to agree otherwise I will not be able to get the money recovered. This amount was paid only in Feb 11. The rent for Feb 11, Mar 11 and Apr 11 was paid as agreed. The deduction for the Rates and Taxes was made at end of Apr 11 from rent as agreed. No payment received for Jun 11, Jul 11. Full monthly amount received for Aug 11. No payment for Sep 11 and Oct 11. They owe me at present more than R 21000.00. Electricity cut - The water account is still in my name because the tenant refuse to put it in his name and the metro will not allow you to cut the water supply. The power was cut on 28 Feb 11 and I was only informed on 05 Apr 11 when the tenant's wife contacted me to discuss it. During this time they used a generator, connected to th main power supply without COC. I agreed with his wife to deduct almost 50% of the rent for my share in this - The previous tenants also did not put the water in their names and I ended up with an amount of almost R 2000 to pay. Due to non-payment of the water by the tenants the amount increased up to the point where the metro disconnected the pre-paid electricity to the house. The tenant alleges the metro sent me a notification that the electricity will be cut but I did not receive it - I moved away from this area and will need at least 2 hours travel to get to the house and the postal services is not very reliable. Almost 3 months later I was told via email that he wil deduct the cost of the fuel and the loss of meat in the freezer from rent due. He is holding me solely responsible for this damage which, according to him amounted to about R 3800.00. However, I have proof that he stored his frozen goods across the street with neighbours I know. Power was restored on 06 Apr 11. Under Administration: The tenant placed himself under administration in Jun 11 without notifying me. He does not answer emails or hios cell phone. I got hold of him on 10 Jun 11 to query why he did not pay rent and he informed me that he placed himself under administration to consolidate his debt and to manage it and referred me to his debt lawyer who said rent is not part of the administration and referred me back to the tenant. Needless to say the rent was not paid. Lawyer - I approached a lawyer for assistance in Jul 11. He has since sent them a letter of demand for the amount owed at the time and also a contract cancellation note for the contract on 29 Aug 11. He also sent them a notice for eviction in Sep 11. The legal processes now have to take its course in terms of timelines when the tenant can contect the eviction / letter of demand, etc. Maintenance: I requested information via email from 01 Dec 10 for the tenant to inform me of any breakages and things that might need repairing and got no feedback from him until end of Jun 11. For the record the maintenance guys stays across the street where the house is and the tenant has direct access to him. He suspended all maintenance arrangements on 01 Sep 11 and also alleges that he will be using the rent for repairs - nothing was done as yet. EMails: Email responses from the tenant started getting nasty from 14 Jun 11. He started with demanding a new lease agreement, proof of his deposit in an interest-bearing account, the financial loss with the using of the generator and a maintenance schedule. I have since engaged with Just Letting to contact the tenant to negotiate a lease agreement and he put the phone down in their ears. I disputed the financial loss but the tenant holds me solely responsible for his loss. The deposit was paid to the estate agent and not to me. My lawyer is of the opinion that this is not my problem. Deductions: The tenant deducted his financial loss and deposit from the rental amount due on 01 Jul 11 although I told him this is illegal and that I do not agree. Deposit: The tenant alleges that I am responsible for the deposit even though he paid this to the letting agent. He deducted this amount from my rent. I requested his assistance in getting it back since he paid it to the agent but he keeps pushing the responsibility to me. I tried to get this from the letting agent and got accused of trying to get the money he deducted for the deposit back and the actual deposit that the agent still have. He even contacted the agent and put a hold on this money not to be paid over to me. I have in fact got hold of the letting agent two days ago and she agreed to pay the deposit to my lawyer but this remain to be seen. SHe will apparently not pay this amount over to the tenant. They allegedly are on the lookout for another house and wants to use the deposit for this purpose. Legal proceedings: I started a letter of demand for the money owed up to 01 Aug 11 and the eviction process at end of Sep 11. I am about to start another letter of demand for the money owed from 01 Aug to date. Lease Agreement: The tenant has written on 22 Jun 11 that he will not enter into any new agreement with me before his 4 issues were addressed. However, I have written to him on 28 Jun 11 that I am not interested in renewing any agreement with him and that I think he is in breach of contract by not paying his dues. I have in fact sent him a notice on 30 Jun 11 to vacate my house as he is in breach of contract, he responded that he will not vacate my premises. Contesting: The tenant advised my lawyer that he is contesting the letter of demands and the eviction notice as I am in breach of contract, non-conformance and that correct legal procedures and processes was not followed. I am apparently also in breach of the housing act. Blacklisting: I want to blacklist this guy but is not sure if I can do this on this site if the letter of demand did not originate from here? Tenant: The tenant is an executive account manager who thinks he knows the housing law. I hope the information above makes sense. Even the lawyer said he has never seen a tenant act in this way. edited by Cyborg on 2011/10/13 edited by Cyborg on 2011/10/13
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2011/10/12 08:52:03 PM Marc Lunau Posts: 175	Thanks for sharing. I started reading this and then stopped as I got lost. >I got rid of the landlord in November 2011 I thought you are the landlord? Sorry, but I can't follow your story at all. -- Investor and Property Manager with value add solutions www.houses4rent.co.za
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2011/10/13 07:08:17 AM Andre Scholtz Posts: 3	Hi Marc, thanks for picking this up. It is actually the letting agent I referred to. edited by Cyborg on 2011/10/13
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