Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa July 2018 | Page 28

LEGAL
Easing the Pain of Eviction
5 Easy steps to follow
BY CILNA STEYN
E
viction - a word that drives fear into the heart of any
landlord. We have seen a decline of 5% in rental pay-
ment across in the rental market, translating to an in-
creased amount of evictions. Less tenants pay on time and
many do not pay rent at all, around 8% of tenants must be
evicted.
Eviction can be a time-consuming and costly exercise if not
dealt with correctly. A Landlord can however mitigate his risk
by taking a few critical steps.
The first is using a properly drafted lease agreement, it is
not necessary to pay an arm and a leg for this. There are lease
agreements like the TPN LeasePack lease that is affordable
and well drafted. A lease agreement must give the landlord the
protection he needs. The landlord must be in a secure position
to cancel the agreement, should the tenant be in breach of any
term of the agreement. A good lease agreement will also have
the effect that both parties would understand their rights and
responsibilities, reducing the risk of breach.
Secondly, proper Tenant vetting is essential. This includes a
credit check, confirmation of employment and contacting the
previous landlord to ensure that the tenant was indeed a good
paying tenant that took proper care of the property. Do a deed
search to confirm that the previous owner is indeed the owner
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JULY/AUGUST 2018 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine
of the property the prospective tenant rented from.
Number three would be to act. Immediate action is the best
way to ensure that a non-paying tenant is removed from the
property quickly. If the tenant does not pay his rent on the day
as agreed to in terms of the lease agreement, a letter placing
the tenant on terms and demanding that he remedy his breach,
either in terms of the lease agreement or the Consumer Pro-
tection Act, should this apply, will ensure effective cancellation
and will allow commencement of eviction proceedings.
Four: do not attempt DIY evictions. Any form of interfer-
ence with an occupant’s occupation, for instance disconnection
of utility supply without a court order or allowing other people
to take occupation with the occupant is spoliation and will
lead to successful court proceedings in favour of the tenant,
this can also delay eviction proceedings.
The fifth is to stop sending any further correspondence or
invoices as this can potentially lead to reinstatement of the
lease agreement or an extension of the right of occupation. The
best process to follow on cancellation of the lease agreement or
even before that, is to instruct specialist attorneys to attend to
the eviction. Specialist attorneys will handle the process effec-
tively which will save the landlord time and money.