Question posted in the Landlord Tenant Law category relating to Western Cape
Hello
Me and my partner were supposed to rent a flat in Observatory, Cape Town which is managed by Evo Properties.
The lease was due to begin the 31st of July and amended to begin the 15th until me and Rynhardt had to drop it altogether.
The lease agreement was signed by all parties. I paid 6000 rands which corresponds to the pro rata rental for July. I was then quoted 24000 rands for deposit which was never paid for.I then obviously never received the keys.
Am I right thinking that as long as the deposit money hasn't been secured by Evo properties the contract hasn't begun and is therefore lapsed?
I was never being contacted by Evo properties only my partner was, ever since I paid the 6000 rands and they were asking for the remainder of the deposit money in order to go ahead. I no longer have access to the lease agreement online.
Evo properties is now asking me to pay early termination fees of 30000 rands as the landlord has apparently suffered losses in rent, however the flat was still advertised online during the whole process.
Many thanks in advance for your help.
Message from the Lawyer
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Am I right thinking that as long as the deposit money hasn't been secured by Evo properties the contract hasn't begun and is therefore lapsed? --> I think yes, because most lease agreements say that the lease is conditional upon the deposit being paid, and that if the deposit is not paid, then the lease is null and void. So, if you never paid the deposit, there is a good chance that there "is no" lease agreement. Put differently, that the lease agreement lapsed as a result of you not having paid the deposit.
In your instance, I think that there might be a small issue because you already paid the pro rata rental.
If there is no more lease agreement because it lapsed, then there is no legal basis for them to demand an early termination fee at all.
I think that you must go back to the agent to say that the lease agreement lapsed and is of no force or effect because you never paid the deposit, and that accordingly there is no lease which is binding on the parties, and accordingly there is no legal basis for them to demand an early termination fee at all.
Message from the client
Thank you very much for your prompt answer.
I have indeed been billed for a pro rats 15 days in July (6000 rands) but never actually paid for the deposit (24000 rands).
We have never seen or visited the flat. The flat was still advertised online the whole process. My partner received reminders to pay for the deposits but I didn’t as the main renter and lastly, the lease agreement that were signed and agreed indicates “June to August” however, we never knew about this flat in June and started the whole process in July.
First we were meant to start our tenancy the 31/7, then amended to the 15/7, then dropped altogether. Evo has then said that we owe them 30000 rands of damages suffered from losses of rent for their client which I disagree with as again, the tenancy has never even started for all the above mentioned reasons. They will not acknowledge any mishaps from their side but, reasonably thinking, there are some gray areas on their sides too. I did say they are more than welcome to keep the 6000 rands I already paid for but that I didn’t think they or the kandllord suffered any losses overall as explained.
Many thanks,
Message from the client
Would it be possible to follow up with that matter together in a more official manner?
Many thanks,
Alex
Message from the Lawyer
Sure thing. What did you have in mind?