Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa October 2014 | Page 37

LEGAL

BY KARIEN HUNTER

The Law of
Good Intentions

Changes to the Rental Housing Act

S

outh Africa probably has some of the best
legislation in the world, designed to protect the
most vulnerable in our society, but often, there are
unintended consequences and the law does not always
assist those that it intends to protect.
Hopefully, this will not be the case now that
every municipality must establish a Rental Housing
Information Office to assist and advise tenants and
landlords with regard to their rights and obligations.
More of the most important changes to the Rental
Housing Act are summarised below.

landlord consents thereto, but a landlord may not
unreasonably refuse his consent. This is not good news
for a landlord. It implies that the tenant should ask for
permission to sub-let, but if the landlord decides not
to agree thereto, the onus is on the landlord to show
the refusal is reasonable. The tenant may take the view
that it is reasonable to sub-let a three-bedroomed
residence to three different families to generate income.
Should the Rental Tribunal take the view that this is
reasonable, the landlord may be compelled to agree to
such arrangement.

In writing
The requirements that all residential lease agreements
must be in writing can make it difficult for illiterate
or semi-literate people: what may have been verbalised
may not be accurately reflected in a lease agreement
drafted by the landlord. For landlords, this provision
will circumvent a tenant