Given what’s happening to the price of property around Cape Town, and indeed most of the bigger metros in South Africa, many of us are going to be renting for quite some time to come.

Of course that comes with its own set of landmines to negotiate, and many people remain uninformed as to what rights a lease agreement affords the tenant.

There have also been many amendments to the Rental Housing, Consumer Protection and National Credit Acts over the past while, which is why it’s worth taking another look.

BusinessTech spoke to the team at Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty and ran through some of the key areas, so let’s touch on those below:

Deposits

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s Erica de Kok said: “For the duration of the tenancy the landlord is legally required to keep your deposit in a bank account and rental agents must place your deposit in a Trust account.”

The Rental Housing Act No. 50 of 1999 and the subsequent Rental Housing Amendment of 2014 state that the deposit must be paid into an interest basing account and that the interest accrued must be included in the deposit refund.

Read that carefully – as a tenant you’re entitled to the interest on the deposit when it is eventually returned. Then there’s this, which is perhaps more important:

“Together both parties must establish the condition of the property and who is responsible for which repairs and the inspection report is then signed off by the tenant and landlord.

“If the landlord or the appointed agent fails to carry out both these inspections with the tenant then it’s assumed the property is handed over in an acceptable condition and the landlord is not permitted to deduct any money for repairs from the tenant’s deposit at the end of the lease term,” the property group said.

If there are no deductions from a deposit, your landlord must issue a refund within seven days of the inspection and if repairs are necessary the deposit minus deductions must be refunded within 14 days of “restoration of the dwelling” as per the relevant Acts.

If a tenant refuses to attend an inspection, though, the landlord will have 21 days to transfer the refund.

Maintenance

Most professional rental agents agree that maintenance is the most common source of dissent between tenants and landlords and it’s therefore a clause that needs to be very clearly defined in the lease…

“The rule of thumb is that while landlords are responsible for the main structure of the home that includes the plumbing and electrical systems, they are not responsible for damage caused by wear and cannot be expected to send out a handyman to replace worn tap washers and light bulbs,” [Lorraine Dellbridge, rentals manager for Lew Geffen Sotheby’s] said.

The obligation of any landlord is to offer the property for rent in a condition ‘reasonably fit for the purpose for which it was let’ and to keep and maintain the property in accordance with Health and Safety standards and any local and relevant law.

Natural wear and tear shouldn’t come out of your pocket, but have a few too many and wreak havoc and you’ll be stumping up for the repairs.

Lease renewal and rental increases

The days of standard 10% year-on-year increases are long gone and if landlords are not open to negotiation they risk losing stable, reliable tenants, according to Lew Geffen Sotheby’s.

…The CPA (Consumer Protection Act) effectively prohibits one from “contracting out of Law”. The implication is that when the original lease is drawn up, assuming the original term is only 12 months, it can’t contain a set percentage escalation clause for Year Two. This means rent hikes must be negotiated and agreed to at the time of the renewal.

“However,” said Groves, “a tenant’s negotiation leverage depends largely on what kind of tenant they have been and those with a strong history of regular rental payment and diligent upkeep of the property have the advantage.”

Sale vs lease

Finally, the area which is still the cause of much confusion is the tenant’s rights when the landlord wants to sell the property.

Lew Geffen Sotheby’s said that while the owner has every right to sell his property, the lease takes precedence and the buyer is bound to all the material terms of the lease agreement.

“This protects the tenant’s rights while the lease is in place and it’s very important that a buyer is aware of these terms when purchasing a property that is occupied by a tenant.”

It’s never ideal to be caught unawares when your lovely rental property suddenly goes on the market, so know exactly what your lease stipulates so that you’re not pushed out in a hurry.

The joys of renting, hey?

[source:businesstech]