2012/02/03 04:40:10 PM apple1 Posts: 2	We have a defaulting tenant who has been issued a letter of demand and is about to have his lease cancelled. There is also a leaking valve in the geyser (not yet causing damage as far as we are aware) for which he is not giving access to the plumber. The owner would like us to facilitate a locksmith to gain entry, allow the plumber to make the repair and then give the tenant a new set of keys. The owner's attorney thinks the risk of comeback from the tenant is worth taking but we are not comfortable with this approach. Would anyone else do this without a court order?
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2012/02/07 08:55:59 AM ttrust03 Posts: 1	Hi, does the owner not have a set of keys for the unit? The tenant needs to give the owner access to the unit to inspect it when required and also for maintenance purposes. I would advise that you send them notification that there is a problem with the geyser and that you urgently need access the unit to repair it to prevent damage to the unit. You can send SMS, e-mails or hand deliver it and try and get signatures. This needs to be done on a daily basis, after one week of doing this send one telling them that as you have not received any reply from them you will be carrying out the repair on a certain date and time that week and tell them that if they want to be present they can be there. The plumber and the owner or owners representative should be there together and they can be witnesses for each other that only the repair work was carried out. These defaulting tenants do not have money for lawyers and if you can prove that you have tried to get access then you should be ok. Nothing is guaranteed though. Good luck
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