Asked by the Customer on 20-01-2025 12:42:52
Question posted in the Property Law category relating to Western Cape
Hi there. We moved into a renatal property on the 23rd of November 2024. The initial agreement was to move in on the 30th of November 2024. Because we moved in a week earlier, the landlord had us pay an extra week of rental. Was this allowed? Do contracts run 25th to the 25th of next? When signing the contract the initial date was incorrect as I had the 30th down. Because it needed to be amended to the 23rd I requested a new copy. Which I did not get, and followed up on. I would like to move out on the 25th of February 2025, to which I informed the landlord of this on 19/01/2025 which is about 26 business days prior to moving. According to the landlord, if they need to find a tenant, they will keep the entire 2 month deposit (double rent). And if I found a new tenant they would reimburse me the deposit. Apparently this is in the contract - Is that legal? Or allowed? To withhold double deposit, if I provided 26 business days notice (which is over a month, including weekends)?
If you would like to view the entire answer, you will need to either login or register a FREE account.
Disclaimer
DISCLAIMER: Advice or answers from Lawyers on South African Legal Advice are not substitutes for the proper advice of an Lawyer. South African Legal Advice is a public forum and questions and responses are not private or confidential or protected by the attorney-client privilege. The Lawyer who assists with your question is not your Lawyer, and the response above is not to be considered to be legal advice. You should not read this response to propose specific action or address specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law that might affect the situation you describe. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances must be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on these general principles, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction to which your question pertains. The responses above are from individual Lawyers, not South African Legal Advice. The site and services are provided “as is”. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service.