PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
Need to evict?
Don’ t Fall Foul of PIE
BY SIMON DIPPENAAR
Being a landlord is a serious responsibility. People rely on you for, literally, the roof over their heads. Your property may be an incomeearning asset to you, but to your tenants it is their home. So, what do you do when your tenant fails to pay the rent and winds up in breach of the lease agreement?
You do have a lease, right? Firstly, we’ re assuming you have a lease. Although it is not a legal requirement to have a written lease, it is strongly recommended. The lease provides protection to both landlord and tenant in the event of either party reneging on their obligations, so it should spell out all the terms and conditions – for both parties – of the tenancy.
Your lease should have a breach clause in it detailing the consequences of breaching any of the terms of the lease. It is up to you how much leniency you wish to exhibit. If a tenant is a day or two late with the rent
one month and they are otherwise a good tenant, it is likely that either the bank has made a mistake( it happens!) or some other incident of human error has occurred. Give your tenant a call and let them know you haven’ t received the rent; this usually sorts the problem. But if the rent is still not paid, or if you have experienced repeated incidents of this nature with no explanation and the rent is now in arrears, your tenant is in breach of the lease agreement. You are legally entitled to start eviction proceedings, but it is essential you follow due process.
Protection for tenants Historically, poor tenants had little power against unscrupulous landlords, so the Prevention of Illegal Eviction Act( PIE) 1998 was enacted to provide tenants with some security and protection against unprincipled property owners. It ensures that“ no one may be deprived of property except in terms of law of general application, and no law may permit arbitrary
24 FEBRUARY 2017 SA Real Estate Investor www. reimag. co. za