Renting makes sense for many people, for many reasons, but don’t get caught without knowing what you are entitled to as a tenant.
In past years, the common belief was that renting would overly benefit the owner through the tenant’s contributions to the mortgage. Today it is accepted that renting offers protection from hidden costs like building insurance, volatile costs like refuse and sewer charges, and the potential of property market crashes!
Landlords enter into agreements to try to protect themselves as much as possible, but these agreements should always be fair to the tenant! The fairness of these agreements are controlled by various laws, chiefly the Rental Housing Act.
This diagram shows the tenant turnover cycle. Each bubble represents one element of protecting your rights as a tenant. In this article, we have summarised the relevant laws for each of these bubbles.
LEASE
You have more rights when you have a signed lease (by both you and the landlord) that has not reached expiry. You are responsible to ensure that your lease is valid at all times during which you inhabit the property. You or the landlord may terminate the lease agreement at any time, and typically given only one calendar month of notice (20 business days). If the notice period is not adhered to, there may be some reasonable penalty applied, which is typically a pro-rata charge.
INSPECTION
Both the tenant and the landlord must be present for both the incoming and outgoing inspections. This is in your best interest, as the two inspections are compared to determine whether your deposit should be refunded to you, or spent on repairs.
DEPOSIT
You need to entrust a deposit amount into the care of the landlord. This amount should be agreed up front and stated in the lease agreement. The deposit amount is typically 1 or 2 months worth of rent, and is determined based on your credit record, as well as the value (and state) of the property being rented. Credit records can be checked through Credit Bureaus which keep records of how well you service your debt, including monthly debits for items like cellphone or clothing store accounts. The landlord pays a small fee to access this information and is held accountable for keeping it confidential. You have access to one free credit report on yourself in every calendar year.
The deposit must be held in an interest-bearing account. Upon termination of the lease, the deposit plus interest will be returned to you. If you choose to renew the lease for a further fixed period (typically 12 months) and the rental amount is increased by the landlord, you are required to increase the amount of deposit held against your lease.
RENT
You are responsible to pay the full amount of rent including other payable charges, at the proper time every month. The law does not provide the tenant with a 7 day grace period. You have the right to receive both a statement and a receipt for all payments made to the landlord, as this usually includes a basic rent fee, water and other charges. The landlord may not increase the rent until the lease reaches its expiry date. The landlord may only pass on increases in monthly levies or rates and taxes if the lease makes provision for it.
UTILITIES
There are usually additional charges which must be paid by either the landlord or the tenant. Typically, these are electricity, water, refuse removal and sewerage charges, parking, internet or other amenities (DSTV) and security. The responsibility for charges for these utilities should be stated explicitly in the lease agreement. You have the right to inspect municipal or other relevant accounts to ensure that your rental statement is correct. The landlord may only pass on increases in levies or rates and taxes if the lease makes provision for it.
CARE and MAINTENANCE
You are responsible to take good care of the property and not use it for other purposes than for which it was let. At the time of your lease termination, you will be responsible to restore it to the same condition that it was received in, so it is in your best interest to maintain it consistently. There is also a responsibility on the landlord to maintain the property in a state that is fit for its purpose. This becomes a somewhat grey area, which is termed “reasonable use”. If you are interested in learning more about what that means, see our post here.
DEPOSIT REFUND
You may not request that the landlord use your deposit in lieu of the last month’s rental. If your lease expires or is terminated and you have vacated the property, an outgoing inspection must be attended by yourself and the landlord. If the inspection finds no cause for deductions from your deposit, there is a period of 7 days during which your full deposit plus interest must be returned to you. If there are any outstanding utilities accounts or rental amounts, or any lost keys, the relevant amount may be deducted from your deposit before it is returned to you. If there are any damages that you are liable for, the landlord has 14 days after the completion of the repairs in which to return the remainder of your deposit to you. If you do not attend the outgoing inspection, your landlord has 21 days in which to return the deposit, or remainder thereof after repairs, back to you.
