Hi, I have signed a 12 months lease agre...

Asked by the Customer on 17-05-2020 14:57:09
Question posted in the Landlord Tenant Law category relating to Gauteng

Hi, I have signed a 12 months lease agreement with the landlord. For the past 5 weeks I couldn't sleep peacefully at night because the tenant that stays in the unit above makes noise throughout the night. I reported this matter to the landlord for resolution. This matter was never resolved and the tenant above still makes noise. I terminated my lease prematurely and currently serving notice because the landlord failed to resolve this matter. There are instances where there is water raining from the roof and I reported this matter which was never resolved. I have videos of water raining from the roof and sound that the tenant above makes in the evening. Now the landlord wants me to pay an early termination fee as stipulated in the contract. Am I supposed to pay the early termination fee since I terminated the lease agreement prematurely because the landlord has failed to address my issues?

Message from the Attorney

Posted by Att. Patrick on 20-05-2020 10:02:30

Hi there,

I see that you haven't made a payment for the question, but I'm going to assist you a little. If you want to ask a follow-up question, please make the required payment.

I don't know why you think that your landlord is responsible to deal with a tenant in a unit above you, and why you think that the landlord's failure to do so would enable you to terminate your lease. 

But, in terms of s14(2) of the Consumer Protection Act, you can terminate your lease by giving 20 business days' notice. 

In terms of s14(3), the landlord would be entitled to charge you a "reasonable" cancellation penalty.

Att. Patrick

Please remember this is a dialog if you have follow-up questions please make the required payment, then use the REPLY button and ask your further question. I would like to continue assisting you, but I need to concentrate on people who make payments for their questions.

Message from the Customer

Att. Pactrick,

I have tried several times to make the required payment to enable me to ask further questions.
I get an error when I try to access the payment link and the system does not allow me to even type my Credit Card details.

Please assist.

Rapelang
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