Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa August 2018 | Page 22

INVESTMENT SERIES
9 First Time Investor Guide
PART
Rental Inspections
What’s the big deal?
BY MONIQUE DU TOIT
I
f you’re renting a property, as either a tenant or a landlord,
you should be quite familiar with the concept of incoming
and outgoing inspections – they are, after all, required by
law under the Rental Housing Act. Despite this, many people
consider inspections to be a formality at most. Jacqui Savage,
the Rawson Property Group’s National Rentals Development
Manager, explains why this can be a very dangerous stance to
take.
“The incoming inspection with a new tenant forms the
foundation of the relationship between landlord, tenant and
agent,” she says. “It’s not just about making sure everyone
knows which skirtings are dented and where that cracked tile
is: it’s also about laying down rules and expectations for the
rental period, and establishing a level of trust.”
As such, it is absolutely essential that the tenant is pres-
ent for the incoming inspection, but failing to attend can have
consequences and simply tarnishing the agent or landlord’s
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good opinion.
“If the tenant whose name is on the lease doesn’t show up
to their agreed-upon incoming inspection appointment, they
legally forfeit their right to contest repair costs deducted from
their deposit when they move out,” says Savage. “That said, it’s
equally important for the landlord or their appointed repre-
sentative to show up, because they also forfeit their right to
claim for future repairs if they fail to appear.”
The reasons behind this rule are quite logical: if a tenant
doesn’t attend the inspection, they can’t prove they didn’t cause
the damage in question. If a landlord or rental agent doesn’t
attend, they can’t prove that the damage wasn’t already there
when the tenant moved in.
Meticulously-recorded incoming and outgoing inspections
put an end to these kinds of disagreements, but they need to
be thorough to be effective.
“There is a lot to cover during an inspection,” says Savage,