Read the latest legal news, updates and commentary from the offices of Simon Dippenaar & Associates.
Is it worth your while to sue your tenant for rent arrears or other costs? There are many ways in which a tenant can breach the terms of the lease, triggering the eviction process, but by far the most common is non-payment of rent. While you may succeed in evicting the non-paying tenant, eviction itself […]
The eviction process protects tenants, but landlords still have rights, even during the festive season Ah…the festive season. Time for beach holidays, road trips, and long, lazy lunches. But it’s also a time of overspending and overconsumption. When the finances don’t quite stretch to the seasonal indulgences, tenants may renege on their obligation to pay […]
Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers and Rural Development and Land Reform Deputy Minister Mcebisi Skwatsha brought some relief to nearly 100 destitute people after they were evicted from the farm Klein Akker near Wallacedene in Kraaifontein. They have been living in a temporary place for more than two months, with no food or water […]
The sting in the tail when a tenant moves out is often a legacy of unpaid bills Your tenants have moved out, either willingly or through the eviction process. Then you get hit with a large unpaid rates bill by the local municipality. What do you do? If it comes to this, the answer is […]
The end of a tenancy is not the time to discover your tenant has not been paying the municipal bills or “rates” – property taxes and utility bills like electricity, water and sewerage, etc. At that stage you are faced with the difficult task of trying to recover the money. It is far better to […]
300 people made homeless in “legal” eviction Activists and concerned citizens are outraged at the treatment of residents on Klein Akker farm in Kraaifontein. In an act of eviction that is legal but nonetheless inhumane, 300 poor and vulnerable occupants have seen their homes demolished before their very eyes and left by the side of […]
Illegal evictions and fatalities are calling cards of Red Ants At Cape Town eviction lawyers Simon Dippenaar & Associates (SDLAW), we were angered and saddened to learn of recent illegal actions by the Gauteng security company Red Ants. The Red Ants firm specialises in “urban management support services for human settlements”, and was established to […]
Rental arrears in South Africa can expose a landlord to immediate cash-flow pressure, but the right response is not always the same. In some matters, recovery of the arrears is commercially justified. In others, the better strategy is to stop the loss, cancel lawfully if entitled to do so, and focus on regaining possession through […]
How much does it cost to evict a tenant? Eviction is an unpleasant word. It conjures up images of an uncaring landlord putting an unfortunate tenant out on the streets. It’s true that there are cases of unfair evictions. But for the most part, rental housing legislation now provides considerable protection to tenants and prevents […]
“Justice? — You get justice in the next world. In this one you have the law.” This is a proverb by the American novelist, William Gaddis, which unfortunately many times seems to be so fitting. This is especially so in eviction matters. Just recently, I had the sad experience of seeing my client’s hopes dashed […]
How Constitutional law is transforming eviction law Eviction | The Constitution is the backbone of society and South Africa is fortunate to have “the most admirable Constitution in the history of the world,” according to Harvard law scholar Cass Sunstein. Our Constitution is unique in that it includes “positive rights” which require the State to […]
In South Africa it is not uncommon for employees to be tenants. This is most often the case when a domestic worker or gardener occupies a cottage on the property of their employer. Usually the accommodation is part of the remuneration package, and often the employer pays the utilities and sometimes even provides food. The […]
