PARKS PROPERTY ADVICE


Landlords ‘held hostage’ by ‘squatter’ Act


Landlords need to be aware that The Prevention of Illegal Eviction From and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act of 1998 makes it difficult for them to summarily evict tenants who default on their rent and service payments. In essence the Act says no one may be evicted from their home, or have their home demolished, without a court order. According to expert legal opinion, it is not up to the landlord to decide when to evict a tenant. He can't just say: “I want you out, I'm evicting you.” A legal process needs to be followed and it will be up to the court to decide what is fair under the circumstances. The following three cases highlight the problem faced by landlords:

Case 1:

Arrigo Ferri (55) appeared in court last week for the sixth time trying to get his tenants to move out of his Bedfordview townhouse. He said his Ethiopian tenants had obtained a protection order against him, barring him from entering his property to ask them for rent and utilities that had not been paid for four months. They owed R37 000.

Ferri said he had disconnected electricity two months ago, hoping that would drive out his tenants. They are still at the house, though, and allegedly use candles. This week Ferri disconnected the water. “I wanted to remove the doors and all, but I was advised that I could get into trouble. I was also told that if I changed the locks, it would be seen as a forceful eviction and I would be breaking the law.” Ferri said it was not as if his tenants could not afford to pay him – they had bought a car last year, owned businesses and employed a domestic worker.

A senior public prosecutor said that landlords must never make verbal agreements and should be careful how they structure their lease agreements. The consequences of non-payment should be clearly spelt out in the agreement. “Locking the tenant out of the house is more effective because the other person has no claim of ownership and if they break into the house, you call the police because that is a criminal offence," he said.

Case 2:

Lebo Zulu said that she and her husband had spent R17 000 on lawyers trying to evict their tenant, who had been living in their Mondeor townhouse rent-free for 10 months. The tenant owed R60 000 in rent and R20 000 for water and lights. The water and lights had been disconnected, but the tenant had reconnected them. The tenant also tried to lock Zulu out. The woman had changed the locks. “While she makes use of Legal Aid services, we fork out money to attorneys,” Zulu said. “She told us she won't move because her child attends school in the area and has made friends there. She has also put in dead bolts from inside of the house to prevent the sheriff coming in.”

Case 3:

Bronwen Oeschger said she had rented her cancer-stricken father's Randpark Ridge house for R13 500 a month to a family of seven. A problem arose when the tenants questioned a huge water bill. Today, the tenants owe R81 000 for six months' rent, R57 000 for water and lights, and they refuse to move out, Oeschger said. “I have spent R40 000 on legal fees and we don't have a court date yet. There's no justification for us landlords to go through all this,” she said.

Compiled from The Star, Business Report, IOL Property News - May 2014