Hi. I would appreciate some advice pleas...

Asked by Antoinette on 17-09-2024 14:53:49
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

Message from the Lawyer

Posted by Att. Patrick on 17-09-2024 16:09:28

Hi there and thank you for your question,

I am a practicing attorney based in South Africa and I will assist you with your question. Please feel free to ask as many follow up questions in order to clarify your question. If you have a new question, you must please open a new thread.

Please keep in mind that our discussions is for general information purposes only. Our engagement on this website does not create an attorney-client relationship. 

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. 

Answer Accepted

This answer was accepted on 17-09-2024 16:16:30

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