Landlord Hell

Noseweek Issue #178, 1st August 2014   By Helen Grange


Landlord Hell

Nightmare tenants plunge property owners into a frightening spiral of debt. By Helen Grange

What do you do as a private property owner and landlord when your tenant owes you more than R70,000 – a year’s worth of outstanding rent – and steadfastly refuses to move out, having bolted the door from the inside? That, and you already owe the city council R20,000 for water and electricity that she continues to use?

This is the predicament of Lebo and Zakhele Zulu, who let their three-bedroom house in Ormonde, south of Johannesburg, to Avril Adams for R6,000 a month. Four months into the deal Adams stopped paying and ignored letters from the rental agent, Rawsons Property. Only after the Zulus resorted to engaging a lawyer in December was a court date set – August 11 – to hear their application for an eviction order.

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Submitted by : Sean Goss of Johannesburg on 2014-07-31 13:48:07
The protection given to difficult tenants, renting from small property investors (Noseweek Article), versus foreclosure on defaulting mortgage holders, clearly reveal that this mad capitalist system, protects only the rich and powerful. It is next to impossible to get rid of an errant tenant, but banks secure court orders on one month arrears on bonds(and even where bonds are paid up). Courts are there for the banks not US!
 
Submitted by : L Horsfield of SANDTON on 2014-07-26 15:42:55
This is an everyday occurrence thanks to legislation that is so biased in favour of tenants.

I question the constitutionality of legislation that requires private property owners to continue to provide accommodation, water and electricity to non paying tenants - because this is the responsibility of the various levels of government - not private individuals.

Delinquent tenants should not be covered by the PIE Act – because if they cannot afford the rent they have the option of moving out. However, by refusing to pay rent and refusing to move out they have effectively hijacked the property – with the tacit consent of government.

The government complains that people don't save enough – but when they do save, and buy a second property to earn rental income – the government fails to protect their property rights.

At a time when the owner is not receiving any rental thanks to unscrupulous tenants who wont pay and wont move out - they are required to spend tens of thousands of rands applying to the high court for an eviction order. Besides having to wait months for the case to be heard - it can be delayed indefinitely by tenants opposing the application ( as in the article) - or when the court grants the delinquent tenants up to 6 months to find alternative accommodation - if they have young children or are elderly. Once again, I question the constitutionality of the court ordering that a property owner must allow their property to be occupied without compensation - especially after the tenant has breached a contract.... but I suppose this is line with the South African policy of protecting the criminals at the expense of the victim.....

Literally 99% of properties repossessed by the bank and sold via sheriffs auction are investment properties - where non paying tenants have forced the property owner into bankruptcy.

Because the legislation is so biased in favour of tenants, and so abused by unscrupulous fraudsters and their attorneys - the percentage of properties bought for investment has dropped from 25% to 7% at a time when interest rates were at their lowest in decades.

The governments determination to protect delinquent tenants at the expense of landlords is actually backfiring, leading to a shortage of rental properties and increasing rentals.

Eventually lower to middle class tenants will have to turn to the government for accommodation because all the private investors have sold their investment properties in SA and invested in a country where the legislation offer the landlord and tenant equal protection.

I know I have.
 
Submitted by : Mike Turner of RANDBURG on 2014-07-26 10:52:52
Bloody hell chaps, let's please identify the Michael Turner to whom you refer a little better: please publish his ID number, current address or somesuch. That's MY name and I anticipate a fair deal of ribbing, notwithstanding the fact that I have never lived in Somerset West !
 
Submitted by : A G Williams of Rivonia on 2014-07-26 06:25:07
Screen tenants using TPN to avoid this - www.tpn.co.za

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