Asked by Sharon on 18-03-2022 22:21:14
Question posted in the Property Law category relating to Western Cape
Hi,
I was renting an apartment with about 3 months left on my lease but towards the end of january I asked my landlord if I could move out sooner. He agreed and said I just need to pay until the end of Feb and then the lease would be cancelled which I agreed to. In our contract that was the correct way to do it and it stated that if he found a tenant in the month that I will be refunded accordingly which in my understanding was on a pro rata basis from when the tenant moved in. I kept asking if he had found someone yet and he said no at first and then ignored me. A friend of mine in the building then told me that on the 2nd of Feb that a new tenant had already moved in and so I asked my landlord why he is keeping my full rent if he does have a tenant and he just refuses to give it back. I was tired of fighting and so I thought I would just leave it because at least at the end of Feb I would get my deposit back but now he refuses to give me either. What can I do about it?
Message from the Lawyer
Posted by Att. Patrick on 20-03-2022 09:13:33
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, even if it is R150 or R200.
What you need to do is to lodge a dispute with the Western Cape Rental Housing Tribunal, and explain the whole story to them. The Tribunal will summons your landlord to the Tribunal and ask him/her questions. You need to be clear with the Tribunal what your story is, and the Tribunal should then make an order (which has the same effect as a Court Order) forcing your landlord to pay you Feb rental and return your deposit.
Keep in mind that if your landlord doesn't do an outgoing inspection of the property, then it is deemed that there are no damages to the property and you are guaranteed to get all of your rental back!
Att. Patrick
Please remember this is a dialog if you have follow-up questions please make the required deposit, 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 deposits for their questions - they get serviced first!
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