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More law to navigate in letting – Featured Blog

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Today’s posts from our featured Port Elizabeth Blogger:

More law to navigate in letting by The Port Elizabeth Property Blog:

Letting residential property in South Africa was traditionally a relatively simple exercise, the principal driver being that there was relatively little regulation and very little changes in our law, as it pertained to leases; until the Rental Housing Act (50 of 1999) (the “Act”) was signed into law. 
The Act brought greater regulation and stability to the letting of residential property, which had been notably been absent until up to this point. 
Even many years after the promulgation of this Act, there has still been a lag by some landlords (lessors) to ensure that their letting procedures, documentation and approach to the process and the lessee; are compliant with the legislation.
Letting had always something that you you could for yourself. The common refrain had always been: “After all how hard could it be?” You simply get a lease agreement from a stationary store, get it signed and that was the end of the legal concerns for many a landlord.
After the act was promulgated it introduced many prescriptions, which carried with them sanctions for non-compliance. It is not the aim in this post to address this act comprehensively, after all this post focuses on the 2013 amendment bill.
The Rental Housing Amendment Bill published on 19 November 2013, went further to introduce greater regulation and more clarity, in that it:
  • Set out the rights and obligations of tenants and landlords in a coherent manner;
  • To require that leases be in writing;
  • To extend the application Chapter 4 to all provinces;
  • To require MEC’s to establish Rental Housing Tribunals;
  • To extend the application of Tribunals;
  • To extend the powers of the Rental Housing Tribunals;
  • To provide for an appeal process;
  • To require all local municipalities to have Rental Housing Tribunal Information offices;
  • To provide for norms and standards related to rental housing;
  • To extend offences
It has been my personal experience that laypeople more often than not are not compliant with present legislation relating to the letting and administration of residential property.
It is therefore advisable that a landlord (lessor) become fully aware of the legislation relating letting, to ensure that the administration of your lease is at very least legally compliant.
The increasingly regulated environment has made the need for professional management services glaringly apparent. In my experience the use a good rental manager reduces your risk, provides you with peace of mind and reduces the hassle.
At JAWITZ PROPERTIES we use skilled administrators supported by legal resources and electronic payment platforms that allow us to receive payments electronically or through various retail points, which greatly reduces the cost of handling cash. This process also allows for a comprehensive statement, which details all the cash movement around a rental, which simplifies the landlords tax submission. It is also logical that a professional administrator is better able to ensure compliance on the basis that we work on standardised processes and systems, as opposed to the landlord who often only has a few properties that he administers. The other major advantage is that our property administration fee is tax deductible, while often the landlord looses a lot of money and time attending to the lease, which he or she does not or cannot recover.
The ultimate decision ultimately rests with the landlord, as do the consequences.
Clinton Begley is a property consultant with a PPRE (Professional Practitioner Real Estate) with JAWITZ PROPERTIES PORT ELIZABETH, at their Port Elizabeth office. He also holds a B.Proc degree through the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (previously the University of Port Elizabeth) and is an admitted Attorney, Notary and Conveyancer. His legal and real estate experience is augmented by studies towards a MBA degree through the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Business School, which he is scheduled to complete at the end of 2014.

This article reflects the personal opinion of the author only, it is not intended as legal advice nor may any reliance be placed upon it. The article is purely for information purposes and you are advised to consult an  expert before making any decision. The author nor Jawitz Properties nor Jawitz Properties Port Elizabeth may be held liable for damages of whatsoever nature from whatsoever cause.

Read more here: The Port Elizabeth Property Blog

Are all Estate Agencies the same? by The Port Elizabeth Property Blog: Are all estate agencies or property brokerages the same?

It may appear to laypeople that one estate agency or brokerage in Port Elizabeth, or the rest of South Africa is very much the same.

This perception is understandable because we all artifacts of estate agency like FOR SALE boards, name badges et cetera.

It is also so that people assume that all agents are going to be ethical, professional and place the interests ahead of their own interests.

When I decided to look at joining a franchise, I decided on Jawitz Properties, because of the fact that in the branches, we are families. I have have heard many a colleague in the industry lament that their agency only cares about the commissions; more than they care about them as people.

But even with our interactions with clients, we treat our clients as family too.

At Jawitz Properties, we call it a “Sense of Home”. Its that influence of a long family orientated way of doing business,which exudes trust because I do believe that all people are naturally adept at detecting who can be trusted and who is possibly less worthy of their trust.

It is this emphasis on putting the client first , which is the element upon which I have been able to guide our clients through the minefield which is the property sale process. In line with our ethos I have always adopted a advisory approach to my clients, while allowing them a level of control or input into the process with which they feel comfortable. I have found that this approach empowers my clients more than a simple sales driven approach. This commitment is proven in the fact that there have been instances were it was not in my client’s interests to buy or sell, so I advised them as such and lost the commission. This approach is based on the long view and seeing each client as a business partner.

Although we at JAWITZ PROPERTIES see ourselves as fanatical over client service, we also realise that we cannot be everything to everyone. Our ethos is what guides us both morally, but also in our daily transactions.

Maybe one might find that there a many different brands out there in the real estate space, but for me JAWITZ PROPERTIES has an awesome team dedicated to the client and we work as a family.

In my relatively short time with JAWITZ PROPERTIES PE; I have found that I love working with families, maybe because family values and the family dynamic resonate so strongly with us.

I like to believe that all agencies inherently aspire to values and truly putting the client first. In my heart of hearts I prefer to adopt a positive approach and believe that our family values permeate our competitors’ offices, after all our great country could do with some values, why should the property industry not lead the way.

Read more here: The Port Elizabeth Property Blog

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This author is a 'catch-all' for occasional articles and letters written to MyPE. The Author of each article can be found in the signature at the bottom of each individual article.