recent posts 

9 days ago
Topic: Agent commission after cancellation of mandate

templer81

Posts: 1

Hello,I am a landlord who wants to cancel my rental mandate with my agent.No termination clause is mentioned on the mandate (full management) but on the Lease ,he added a clause that specified that for the duration he is entitled 7.5% commission,without my knowledge.(but the lease was signed).(Collection Commisssion of 7.5% plus VAT shall be paid by the Landlord to so-and-so for the duration of the Lease Agreement and any extension thereof,).What happens when I cancel my mandate with him ? Is he entitled commission for duration of lease ? Can I cancel existing leases and create new leases with my tenants ? Does a cancellation of a mandate allow cancellation of existing leases ?
Thank you ,in advance.
Templer

 

2019/11/08
Topic: Body Corporate

Dean

Posts: 1

Hi all,
I'm a first time buyer, I've owned a unit in a complex for about two years now.
It seems like there are never ending issues with not only estate agents not pulling their weight, but body corporates as well, unless this is the norm?
Is it generally a negative buying in a complex run by a body corporate?
edited by Dean on 2019/11/10

 

2019/11/06
Topic: Co-lease agreement

SonicBoom

Posts: 1

Two 3rd year varsity kids want to share an apartment for a year. The landlord won't split the lease agreement, but will receive two payments monthly. Parent1 has agreed to sign the lease on behalf of both kids as the parents are long-term friends, and each parent will make 50% monthly rent payments. But a simple agreement stating that parent 2 will share the lease cost is a sensible thing to put in place nonetheless. Can anyone provide a simple co-lease agreement please?
Thanks

 

2019/11/03
Topic: Eviction Record

Landlord108

Posts: 1

Hi all,

Some back ground: I have an illegal occupying tenant and been through the eviction process. The court has granted a default judgement for the tenant to vacate by a certain date.
The reason for eviction is that the lease ended, notice given, but tenant refused to leave.

Does this eviction judgment show up on the tenants credit record anywhere? and for how long?

 

2019/10/24
Topic: Paying of pro rata agents commisison

Belinda.best

Posts: 1

1. Does a tenant need to accept having to pay the full agents commission to the landlord after moving out early (3 months) even though a new tenant is moving in 23 days after I vacated? Is it not only for the period the landlord suffers a loss i.e the remainder of the month the property was not occupied. Bearing in mind I gave almost 3 months notice of my intention to vacate early as I bought a property.
2. Can a landlord deduct funds for payment of leave pay from my deposit to his garden boy once I have vacated as he is giving him notice?

 

2019/09/10
Topic: Interest on late rent payments

Onderbroek

Posts: 1

What is the easiest way to calculate interest, saying this my tenant is paying little by little

 

2019/08/28
Topic: Is landlord entitled to claim rental?

MJ

Posts: 6

Good Day Our tenant gave notice the middle of November 2018. they were supposed to vacate end of January 2019 which they did not do. The tenant stayed on another week to repair the damage they caused and to take down their illegal buildings. I was told this is standard as the tenant must first be given an opportunity to do the repair themselves before an outside contractor can be brought in. Even after the 7th of February the property was still in a total mess with electricity cables being cut and left hanging open (aircons removed). Can we claim rental for February from the tenant for loss of income due to this? (note that some of the items were only attended to in April and May 2019)
edited by MJ on 2019/08/28

 

2019/08/27
Topic: Landlord signing the lease before tenant moves

Esmeralda P

Posts: 1

Hi There,

Just a quick question, is the landlord forced by the law to sign the lease before the tenant takes occupation?

We manage over 2000 units with over 4000 applications being processed so are we legally forced to sign the lease as well before client moves in and provide them with a copy?

I will strongly appreciate any input here.

 

2019/08/23
Topic: Lease Cancellation

sapopurpuro

Posts: 2

Sorry, one more thing. I'm being told that the apartment needs to be painted over the weekend and that they must do repairs. It is my understanding that the landlord are within his rights to access the apartment and do repairs when they're deemed necessary, however these repairs are cosmetic and should have been done before I moved. Is that correct?

 

2019/08/22
Topic: Lease Cancellation

sapopurpuro

Posts: 2

Good evening,
I am writing to inquire about the conditions of an early lease cancellation. I moved into an apartment on August 1st. The room faces a parking lot and can get noisy during the night/weekends. Prior to signing the lease, I informed the agent that in the event that I find my stay there uncomfortable, I would be submitting a one month's notice. The agent informed me that that would be possible to submit the notice whenever, that I would not have to pay a penalty and that he would be assisting me with finding a new place. The penalty fee in the cancellation clause was struck out and the agent signed next to it. When the landlord was sent the agreement to initial and sign, they struck out the entire cancellation clause and the agent did not inform me of this beforehand. Due to the inconvenience, I submitted my notice on the 11th of August via email and received no response. I then proceeded to inform the agent's boss through a message and was told that I cannot submit a notice within 10 days of my moving. The agent called to inform me that he can move to a different unit within the same building by September. I then emailed them again and stated that I would agree to stay should another apartment become available by the 1st week of September. No one responded to my email. Exactly three days ago, I received an email asking when I would be available so that the agent may bring clients to view the apartment. I inquired as to whether or not that means my one month notice is in effect. More radio silence. I communicated with the agency again today, and it is my understanding that the landlord is yet to be informed, and I am now being asked to pay a full month's (September) rent even though I intend to vacate the apartment on the 10th of September. Could you kindly help me understand how this situation can be resolved? I am new to South Africa and this is my first lease, so I'm not sure if any of the laws would apply to me as well.
Thank you very much in advance.

 

2019/08/08
Topic: Rental agent threatening to take my deposit

TPNLegal

Administrator

Posts: 88

Hi StormieCloud

Viewings should be conducted at a mutually agreeable time and with reasonable notice to the tenant.

If you feel that the agent has not complied with this and your deposit is withheld, then you are within your rights to approach the Tribunal to hear your case.

 

2019/08/08
Topic: Rental Agent Fees

TPNLegal

Administrator

Posts: 88

Hi HeadRush

This will entirely depend on the terms of your mandate agreement. Most mandates contain a clause that states that commission is payable on each further renewal of the lease agreement.

 

2019/08/08
Topic: Rental agent threatening to take my deposit

StormieCloud

Posts: 1

Hi all



My husband and I are at the end of our lease agreement term. We have two problems with how our rental agent is handling things in this last month of our tenancy.



The rental agent informed us that he would like to do viewings for prospective tenants, we agreed to that. He then sends a very generic marketing email a few days later with viewing schedules for all their properies. There was no indication in the title or body of the email that we should check it for the viewings of our flat.

He then sends the email out to public without us even agreeing to the schedule days and times.

Afterwards we agreed to Saturday mornings at 11. The agent is continuing to pester us that we have to allow viewings on the Wednesday even though we indicated twice that we would be unable to. All he said was that we must make a plan. We said that we are available on Tuesdays but have had no reply from him yet regarding that.

So the viewing schedule is set up and they had a prospective tenant on one Saturday. The agent did not inform us that they had a prospective tenant for a viewing and he came to our flat. We were not available that day because we had no communication at all that they were bringing someone for a viewing.

The agent now says we are in breach of contract and he is saying that he is going to withhold our deposit because they don't have a tenant yet. He is accusing us of preventing them from getting a tenant before we move out.



This seems unfair to me, but I am not sure who is legally in the right. If the rental agency escalates his threats then I will take it to the rental housing tribunal. But I want to be absolutely sure of my facts.



As far as I'm aware the viewing schedule isn't the same as an actual viewing when they have a prospective tenant. So, should he not inform us timeously when he has someone to view or should we simply be at home every Saturday at 11 no matter if they have prospective tenants or not?

And can he legally take our deposit as a result of this?

 

2019/08/06
Topic: Letter of Demand

cvr

Posts: 1

Good day, I am desperately looking for a Commercial Lease Agreement with the Option to Purchase. You can perhaps assist?

 

2019/08/06
Topic: Rental Agent Fees

HeadRush

Posts: 1

Good Day

I need your advice to see if this is correct.

I went through an agent to help me find a tenant, the tenant signed a 2yr lease.

For the 1st and 2nd year i was charged 8% + VAT commission, now on the 3rd year when the lease is over they want me to pay them again for aslong as the tenant is staying there.

Is this correct and is there anything I can do?

Thanks
G

 

2019/08/05
Topic: Is This legal ?

TPNLegal

Administrator

Posts: 88

Hi Repse636

Yes, this could potentially be legal.

For reference I have included below a link to an article we wrote on early cancellation penalties and what may be charged.

https://www.tpn.co.za/Guest/tpn_blog_post.aspx?id=8224340584904263211

 

2019/08/05
Topic: Rental increase from utilities increase,post rent?

TPNLegal

Administrator

Posts: 88

Hi BMGD

This does sound like a complicated system.

Seeing as the utilities are built into the the first 2 tenant's rent, the amount they pay is unaffected. If the 10% is built into all the figures then the higher electricity will be charged to tenant 3 and the brunt of the increased bill will need to be paid by tenant 4.

Could you please give TPN's legal department a call on 0861 876 000, I would like to discuss with you how you could go about restructuring these 4 agreements.

 

2019/07/29
Topic: Is This legal ?

Repse636

Posts: 1

If you move out end of August you will pay the following

2 months penalty being
September and October Rental
5 months cancellation to Owner – R5000
Deposit will be forfeited

Please advise if you will be leaving at the end of August as we need to notify the landlord.

 

2019/07/18
Topic: Rental increase from utilities increase,post rent?

BMGD

Posts: 1

I've just bought a rental property with 4 tenants effective 5 July. June's utilities bill (water, lights, refuse & sewerage) has arrived now in July and includes around a 10% increase not factored in by the seller. 2 of the tenants rents include the utilities, the other tenant includes just water, refuse & sewerage but not lights, and the forth pays the remainder. Not ideal way to work it but it's the system I've inherited.

The seller, who needs to pay June's bill wants to increase July's rent to pay for this but they are no longer the landlord and so want me to increase July's rent (which has been paid already) to pay for this or to charge double the increase for August's rent to cover July's increase.

I'm not sure how this should work? Any suggestions

 

2019/07/18
Topic: Letter of Demand

TPNLegal

Administrator

Posts: 88

Hi GMAT

Please contact us on 0861 876 000. We will happily walk you through the process.