The New Rental Housing Act According to Shevelew , there are new definitions that have been changed in this new legislation and one of them is habitability .
“ The importance of habitability and maintenance cannot be underestimated , because now there is an obligation to the direction of the landlord to provide space that is adequate , make sure that there is no threat to health , and that you look after the physical safety of the tenant and make sure that the place that your tenants occupy is a structurally sound building . And equally to all this there is a duty for the landlord to maintain the standard of the property in which the tenants will reside ,” says Shevelew .
" The 2014 Act seeks to replace all provincial unfair regulations and the national set of regulations which were drafted in 2008 ."
He says maintenance includes such repairs and upkeep as may be required to ensure that a dwelling is in a habitable condition . Failure to keep up with the regulations of the legislation will bear consequences for the landlord and these include a grant to cancel the lease .
“ If a tenant can prove that they have not been provided with adequate space or that they don ’ t feel safe in the dwelling that they are renting from you as a landlord , they could potentially get a grant to cancel the lease or be allowed not to pay rental ,” He adds .
Additionally , according to SDLaw attorney , Simon Dippenaar , another possible consequence of noncompliance with the Amendment Act from the side of a landlord could result in a fine or the possibility of two years imprisonment .
As said before , this act is geared towards the protection of tenants , and maybe this is the government ’ s way of diversifying the property industry .
“ The objectives of the 2014 act are clearly intended to promote access to housing and are inarguably more tenant centric than ever before , this is to address the plight of poor and vulnerable tenants ,” Shevelew says .
According to Simon Dippenaar , some of the reasons for the amendment of this act is the historic exploitation that former tenants had experienced at the hands of their landlords .
“ Historically some landlords have exploited desperate tenants by renting out sub-standard properties . The Amendment Act spells out standards for rental housing – a significant
16 JULY 2021 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine