The Rental Housing Act (50 of 1999), as amended, aims to regulate the relationship between tenants and landlords of residential property (utilised for dwelling purposes) in South Africa – by setting out general requirements relating to leases, laying down general principles and governing conflict resolution. The Rental Housing Tribunal’s function is to ensure that unfair practices between landlords and tenants are eliminated and hence it interprets both the Act and the Procedural and Unfair Practice Regulations, where applicable, in its deliberations. The service is free to both tenants and landlords. A lease will be deemed to include a number of terms, which cannot be waived by either party, some of which are listed below:

• The landlord must furnish the tenant with written receipts for all payments received by the landlord from the tenant.
• If on the expiration of the lease, the tenant remains in the dwelling with the express or tacit consent of the landlord, the landlord and tenant are deemed, in the absence of a further written lease, to have entered into a periodic lease, on the same terms and conditions as the expired lease, except that at least one month’s written notice must be given of the intention by either party to terminate the lease.
• A deposit must be invested by the landlord in an interest-bearing account, such interest not to be less than the rate applicable to a savings account. During the period of the lease, the tenant is entitled to request proof from the landlord in respect of interest accrued.
• A tenant has the right, during the lease period, to privacy, and should the landlord wish to exercise his or her right of inspection, the inspection must be done in a reasonable manner after reasonable notice to the tenant.
• A landlord must provide a tenant with a dwelling that is fit and suitable to live in, maintain the existing structure of the dwelling and facilitate the provision of utilities to the dwelling.
• The Rental Housing Amendment Act (35 of 2014) addresses some of the shortcomings of the Act, and will come into operation on a date yet to be proclaimed. Some of the main changes that the Amendment Act brings about are that:
  • Leases must be reduced to writing. The onus will be on the landlord to make sure it is in writing.
  • The deposit and interest accrued on it must be paid to the tenant within 7 days of the expiration of the lease, however a reasonable cost incurred in repairing damage to the dwelling may be deducted from the deposit, but relevant receipts reflecting these costs must be made available to the tenant for inspection. Failure by a landlord to repay the deposit to the tenant is a criminal offence.