I run a small guesthouse for nearly 15years. In May 2022 I was approached by a lady asking for long term accommodation as she got a job in town. We agreed not to have a written lease as it was only for 6 months. Last month she watsup me asking if she could stay on for 5 years as she has signed a 5 year contract with her employer.  I agreed. I also blocked out all the dates for the next 2 years on the 5 tourism apps I'm listed on, like Airbnb, Booking.com, Lekkeslaap, Safarinow  and Afristay. I also get daily enquiries via telephone and emails and had to decline everyone. Yesterday leaving for work she just lightly mentioned that she is moving out at the end of November and the greeted and left. Last night I asked if I could talk to her, I asked her why is she moving out as there was no indication or any reason that I could think of. She replied she got another accommodation that is more suitable for her. I am really sad about this as I have just been good to her and I have lost all the potential bookings that could have been made. What are my rights in this matter. Thanks

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.

It sounds to me as if you had an oral lease agreement for 5 years. However, in terms of the CPA, she is entitled to terminate the lease agreement by giving you 20 business days' notice. So she can terminate the lease - if she wants. However, you are entitled to charge her a reasonable cancellation penalty.

Do you want to know more about this?

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!