Page 29 - Nexia SAB&T Property & Tax Guide 2022

THE RENTAL HOUSING ACT

The Rental Housing Act (50 of 1999), as amended, aims to regulate the relationship between
tenants and landlords of residential property (utilised for dwelling purposes) in South Africa
– by setting out general requirements relating to leases, laying down general principles and
governing conflict resolution. The Rental Housing Tribunal’s function is to ensure that unfair
practices between landlords and tenants are eliminated and hence it interprets both the Act
and the Procedural and Unfair Practice Regulations, where applicable, in its deliberations. The
service is free to both tenants and landlords. A lease will be deemed to include a number of
terms, which cannot be waived by either party, some of which are listed below:
◆ The landlord must furnish the tenant with written receipts for all payments received by
the landlord from the tenant.
◆ If on the expiration of the lease, the tenant remains in the dwelling with the express or
tacit consent of the landlord, the landlord and tenant are deemed, in the absence of
a further written lease, to have entered into a periodic lease, on the same terms and
conditions as the expired lease, except that at least one month’s written notice must be
given of the intention by either party to terminate the lease.
◆ A deposit must be invested by the landlord in an interest bearing account, such interest
not to be less than the rate applicable to a savings account. During the period of the
lease, the tenant is entitled to request proof from the landlord in respect of interest
accrued.
◆ A tenant has the right, during the lease period, to privacy, and should the landlord wish
to exercise his or her right of inspection, the inspection must be done in a reasonable
manner after reasonable notice to the tenant.
◆ A landlord must provide a tenant with a dwelling that is fit and suitable to live in,
maintain the existing structure of the dwelling and facilitate the provision of utilities to
the dwelling.
◆ The Rental Housing Amendment Act (35 of 2014) addresses some of the shortcomings
of the Act, and will come into operation on a date yet to be proclaimed. Some of the
main changes that the Amendment Act brings about are that:
❖ Leases must be reduced to writing. The onus will be on the landlord to make sure
it is in writing.
❖ The deposit and interest accrued on it must be paid to the tenant within 7 days of
the expiration of the lease, however a reasonable cost incurred in repairing damage
to the dwelling may be deducted from the deposit, but relevant receipts reflecting
these costs must be made available to the tenant for inspection. Failure by a
landlord to repay the deposit to the tenant is a criminal offence.
27