Question posted in the Landlord Tenant Law category relating to Western Cape
Hi. I would appreciate some advice please. Our son has signed a lease agreement for an apartment in Cape Town. He paid the deposit and first month's rent. His lease started 1 August 2024. However, he could not move in because the previous tenants now refuse to move out because they haven't found alternative accommodation. The agency did help our son to move in to temporary accommodation for August and September, but now wants him to move out because they have someone else who is going to rent there from 1 October. What is our son's rights? Or does he not have any rights in our legal system, because he does not have "occupation?
Regards
Antoinette
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I'm really sorry to hear the position that your son is in. The problem is that he is not yet in occupation of the premises, so a court is going to look at his rights as less important that even the current "an illegal occupier" of the property! This is simply because the current "an illegal occupier" of the property is in the property and is actually living there, while your son is living somewhere else.
What your son has is a standard breach of contract.
The landlord has breached the lease agreement because the landlord has failed to ensure that your son can move into the property on 1 August. I know that this is strictly speaking not the landlord's fault, but it is in terms of the contract.
Your son must either wait until the property becomes available, OR he must send the landlord a letter to terminate the lease agreement and demand his deposit and first months' rental back.