Property Rental Law South AfricaEnquirin...

Asked by Jo on 30-01-2023 16:26:33
Question posted in the Landlord Tenant Law category relating to Western Cape

Property Rental Law  - South Africa

Enquiring as tenant re: a lease in Simons Town , Western Cape.

Hi.

My name is Jo. I'm in final discussions re: a lease with a private landlord and have 2-3 questions 

Question 1: Is clause 3.3 below - Legal? 

And then, in reference to another question and clause 3.5 below: 

The landlord is insisting on an increase in the amount of 'CPI % Latest Available Consumer Price Index ' and did not agree to my suggested capped 5% annual increase instead when I saw this clause.

While I believe a CPI price linked increase may mean I pay less than 5% -it may also, I think mean I pay a lot more. I have no idea how to go back to him with a re-wording of this clause to my best advantage or how he would calculate the CPI increase. 

I'm presuming his clause means  - based on the Feb CPI % (increase) every year  - as the rent starts 01 March?

Question 2:

Would an averege annual CPI increase not be a more fair way to calculate an increase for both parties  - as monthly increases seems to move around and if so how would this be done and what statistics would you recommend consistantly basing this calculation on? 

Also  - I'd like to insist on a rental increase cap which is only fair i feel. He would not agree on first negotiation on 5% fixed and quoted current CPI at 7.2 % .

What's a fair annual increase Cap to agree to? 6%  ?

I like the property.

Many thanks

Jo

3. RENTAL

3.1 The Tenant agrees to pay the following monthly rental amount:R8500 

3.2.  The rental amount must be paid in advance, free of bank charges, on or before the the first working day of every month.

3.3.  Rental payments received after the 7th day of the month, will incur a surcharge of R250.00 to cover additional administration costs.

3.4.  Rental must be paid without deduction or set off, directly into the following bank account:Bank:Branch Code: Account Holder: Account Type: Account Number:

3.5. The rental amount will be increased every year on the anniversary of the start of this agreement, in the amount of CPI % Latest available Consumer Price Index

3.6. A dated receipt will be issued by the Landlord upon receipt of the rental amount. The receipt will indicate the amount received, any arrears due, deposit kept, repair costs and any other charges incurred during the period for which the rental amount was paid.

Message from the Lawyer

Posted by Att. Patrick on 30-01-2023 16:36:28

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. 

Do you mind if I take a moment to review your question? I will come back to you shortly!

Att. Patrick

Message from the client

Happy to wait for your response Patrick if Landlord/Tenant contracts are an area you can advise professionally on. If I'm happy with the response you provide -I'll happy accept the answer

Message from the Lawyer

Posted by Att. Patrick on 30-01-2023 16:50:07

Most lease agreements contain an annual increase of a fixed percentage, because it is easier that way and also so the parties know what they are in for. Having said that, some leases link the increase to the CPI. There is a legal way to calculate the CPI increase. 

https://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P0141/CPIHistory.pdf

What you would do is to look at the CPI for the month when the lease starts [let's call this "A"], and then the CPI on the anniversary date of the lease [let's call this "B"], and then you would -

NEW RENTAL = OLD RENTAL x B / A

It calculates the factor increase of the old rental based on the CPI difference. (You would use the 1 March CPI figure each year.)

If the landlord doesn't want to fix the annual increase, and insists on sticking to CPI, I don't know how you're going to change his mind. 

When he says the current CPI at 7.2% he is not entirely correct. What that means is that the CPI increase this YEAR (over the past 12 months) was 7.2%. But if you calculate the CPI increase from 1 March 2023 to 1 March 2024 (you'll only be able to do this calculation next year) the figure might be higher or lower.  Or if you calculate it from June 2022 to June 2023, you'll get a different figure. 

I think that you should agree to -

3.5. The rental amount will be increased every year on the anniversary of the start of this agreement, in the amount of CPI % Latest available Consumer Price Index, but limited to an increase of 7% per annum.

Answer Accepted

This answer was accepted on 30-01-2023 20:16:10

Message from the Lawyer

Posted by Att. Patrick on 30-01-2023 16:54:49

Here is a nice CPI calculator which you can use: https://inflationcalc.co.za/

Message from the client

Thanks Patrick

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