A landlord is well within his or her rights to send a letter of demand on the second day of the month if the rental was not received. The tenant will be afforded 20 business days to remedy the breach. If the tenant does not remedy the breach within 20 business days, the landlord will be entitled to cancel the agreement effective immediately and to give the tenant notice to vacate.
“Should the tenant breach contract or default on payments for three consecutive months, we will continue with blacklisting. Blacklisting someone is not something we like to do, but we feel that it is our responsibility to make society aware of non-paying individuals,” says PG van der Linde, Rentals Manager at Seeff Pretoria East.
'Settling disputes amicably'
Landlords and tenants can seek council from the RHT in solving rental disputes. Made up of members who have been appointed by the Provincial Minister of Housing and who have experience with housing management, development and rental housing, the RHT is tasked with implementing the Rental Housing Act and assists in resolving disputes that arise between landlords and tenants.
The RHT deals with all aspects relating to a tenancy, such as verbal or written lease agreement disputes, the rights and duties of each party, deposit refunds, rental defaults, damage to the rental property, utilities, eviction and house rules, to name a few.
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“The primary function of the Rental Housing Tribunal is to mediate and settle disputes that tenants and landlords cannot resolve amicably. The RHT will inform landlords and tenants of both their rights and obligations regarding the Rental Housing Act, and will then investigate and mediate the situation at hand to reach a resolution by making recommendations to the relevant parties,” explains Regional Director and CEO of RE/MAX of Southern Africa, Adrian Goslett.
Anyone who has a vested interest in a rental property may lodge a complaint with the RHT. The service that the RHT provides is free to landlords and tenants, and each party may represent themselves in the matter, so there is no need to incur legal costs.
Can a tenant back out of a rental lease?
A property is an investment and a vacant property not earning rental income could be detrimental to the landlord.
A tenant is allowed to give 20 business days' notice to cancel a lease agreement at any time, in accordance with Section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act. If the landlord/agent makes an effort to procure a new tenant by marketing the property at market-related prices after receiving notice, but fail to find a new tenant, the tenant who gave notice can be held liable for a reasonable cancellation penalty.
"A reasonable cancellation penalty may require that the tenant pays the rental for the remainder of the lease should a new tenant not be sourced. It is advisable to stipulate the reasonable cancellation penalty in the agreement of lease," adds Van der Linde.
Lodging a complaint
Lodging a complaint requires the petitioner to make contact with the relevant RHT office that has authority in the area in which the home is situated. Legislation dictates that the complaint must be in writing. The provincial offices each have different complaint forms on which the complaints are to be lodged. The complaints can be lodged by either registered mail or fax. It is advisable that once the complaint has been submitted, the complainant follows up to ensure that it reached the right person.
Once a case is opened, a reference number will be allocated to the matter before a preliminary investigation is conducted. The investigation will be to determine whether the complaint relates to a dispute in respect of a matter which may constitute an unfair practise – this must be determined within 30 days of receiving the complaint.
To define this, the RHT may require additional information from either the complainant or respondent. In certain instances, an inspector may be appointed to inspect the property in question and compile a report on the complaint.
“If the investigation deems that there was an unfair practice, all parties will be informed in writing that the case has been opened and a date and time has been set for mediation, explains Goslett.
RHT mediator remains impartial
"The mediation is an informal, confidential meeting where the landlord and tenant will meet to discuss their issues in the presence of a trained, experienced mediator. The mediator will remain impartial and will assist the parties to come to a mutually acceptable solution to their problem.
"The landlord and tenant will be the ones who make the final decision with regards to the mediation agreement – not the mediator. Once the parties have reached an agreement, it is possible for the agreement to be made an order of the court. If no agreement is reached at the informal mediation, the matter will be referred to a formal hearing for the ruling," he says.
It is important to note that the Rental Housing Tribunal is not biased towards the tenant, but will listen to the facts and base their decision on these facts whether in favour of the landlord or tenant. Get the contact details for the Rental Housing Tribunal here.
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