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Benefits to contracting outside the Consumer Protection Act.

  • No 20-Day Early Cancellation Right for Tenants
    • Under the CPA: Tenants have a statutory right to cancel a fixed-term lease at any time for any reason by giving 20 business days’ written notice. 
    • Outside the CPA: The tenant is locked into the lease for the full agreed duration. They cannot break the contract early without the landlord’s consent, unless the landlord has committed a material breach.
  • Lease Agreements Can Exceed 24 Months
    • Under the CPA: Fixed-term leases are capped at a maximum of 24 months, unless the landlord can prove a “demonstrable financial benefit” to the tenant for a longer duration. 
    • Outside the CPA: Landlords can freely negotiate long-term agreements (e.g., 3, 5, or 10-year leases), offering far greater rental security and long-term financial stability.
  • Shorter Breach and Remedy Notice Periods
    • Under the CPA: If a tenant defaults (e.g., misses rent), the landlord must give them a mandatory 20 business days’ written notice to remedy the breach before terminating the agreement. 
    • Outside the CPA: The lease contract dictates the breach notice period, which is typically reduced to 7 to 14 calendar days (or whatever is written into the agreement), allowing faster legal action if the tenant fails to pay.
  • Stronger Damages Claims Upon Default
    • Under the CPA: If a tenant cancels early, the landlord can only charge a “reasonable cancellation penalty” based on actual costs incurred (e.g., re-advertising fees, lost rent while seeking a replacement) and cannot impose punitive damages. 
    • Outside the CPA: If a tenant breaches or unlawfully vacates, the landlord can hold the tenant liable for all remaining rental payments through to the end of the contract term (subject only to the landlord’s common-law duty to mitigate loss by seeking a replacement tenant).
  • No Mandatory Renewal/Expiry Notice Obligations
    • Under the CPA: Landlords are legally required to send written notice of lease expiry between 40 and 80 business days prior to the end date. Failing to do so can cause the lease to automatically roll over onto a month-to-month basis. 
    • Outside the CPA: The contract simply terminates automatically on its stated end date without the landlord needing to send formal expiry reminder notices.
  • Greater Freedom of Contract
    • Without CPA restrictions regarding unfair, unreasonable, or unjust terms, landlords retain stronger overall bargaining power to draft terms tailored to protect their asset.

Important Note: Even when a residential lease falls outside the CPA, the landlord remains bound by the Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999 (which governs basic tenant rights, deposits, and habitability) and the Prevention of Illegal Eviction (PIE) Act (which dictates the legal process required for evictions).

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Service Fees

Sellers

Choose to pay up front or when your sale is complete, fees are negotiable. Either way full service is included.

  • Property Consultation.
  • Photography, video and online 3D tour.
  • Floor Plan.
  • Listing On Our Partner Property Portals.
  • Viewing Scheduling.
  • Buyer Qualification.
  • Offer Negotiation.
  • Sales Progression To Completion.

Premium marketing options are available on most online property portals at an additional cost, your property professional will discuss these with you when preparing the marketing plan for your home.

Landlords

Full rental management –  10% excl VAT of rent collected for rentals under R22,000. A flat rate of R2,000 plus 1.5% excl VAT  when monthly rental exceeds R22,000.

We also offer a tenant procurement service –  you pay R7,500 excl VAT upfront or R15,000 excl VAT on signature of the lease agreement.

See  Property Management Flyer  for more information

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Maximise your rental returns

Best Rental Returns are achieved when you earn consistent and growing income and your property is well looked after.   To do this you need to;

  • Price Competitively.
  • Select tenants carefully.
  • Proactively manage relationships.

We help clients achieve excellent returns. Complete the form on this page, and we will be in touch.  Service Fees

Tenant Selection

We find you tenants that will pay the rent on time, look after your home as if it was their own, be a good neighbour and communicate well. Tenant selection is initially based on the credit / conduct profile of the applicant. We asess the applicants ability and willingness to pay and how they will look after your home.

We use PayProp – South Africa’s largest rental management system. Size matters because they aggregate data from hundreds of thousands of tenants and use it to build a model for establishing a  tenant profile.

We prefer to work with people that approach challenges that arise with a positive mindset. In talking with applicants throughout the marketing and application process we are looking for a person that is responsive to questions, offers information and is willing to discuss issues.

Tenant selection policy Sample tenant selection summary report

Proactive Tenant Management 

Having found a tenant for your property;  longterm rental success requires proactive tenant management.

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Proactive management begins by setting the level of expectation. We ensure that the tenant understands and commits to the conditions of the lease agreement. From there we ensure consistent application of the terms of the lease so as to maintain the conduct of the tenant at the level we expect.

Landlords to their part by ensuring the home is ready for rental – making it neat, clean and in a good state of repair. The message to the tenant is  – I take care of my home and I would like you to take just as good care of it.

  • We collect 2 months rent as a security deposit.
  • We record the condition of your home in great detail. And the Tenant signs off on the inspection document.
  • We visit the tenant regularly in the course of the year normally 3 times at least and more if necessary. We check to ensure that they are taking good care of your home and respond quickly to tenants reports of maintenance issues and ensure they are addressed as soon as possible.
  • We ensure that the rent is paid on or before time and deal quickly with even the slightest delay.

  We are always fair to tenants and make sure that we conduct our business inline with the lease agreement – We work hard to ensure that the Tenant does so as well.

Sample Inspection report

We help clients achieve excellent returns. Complete the form on this page, and we will be in touch.

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City of Cape Town Fixed Basic Charge for Utilities

The City of Cape Town in its 2018/2019 budget implemented a new method of charging for water and electricity services.

There is now a monthly Fixed Basic Charge for the supply of these services. Consumption based charges are still in place although for people using less that 600 units of electricity the cost per unit has been reduced to compensate somewhat for the implementation of the fixed basic charge.

The Fixed Basic Charge is related to the provision of municipal services to the property and is therefore  recoverable from the tenant in the same way that consumption based charges are recovered from the tenant.

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Cape Town rental market reality check

A quick review of articles online, reporting on Cape Town rental prices, turned up a range of  headlines.

Cape town rental prices skyrocket – Feb 2017

Rental markets are under pressure – Feb 2018 

Cape Town rental market to remain in the Doldrums – March 2018 

Southern suburbs rentals cheaper – May 2018 

In December 2017 segments of the rental market started showing signs of strain. By May / June this has become a prevalent feature in practically all markets we operate in – Only rentals below R8,000 are still holding up. We manage properties for clients from the City Bowl through to Plumstead and all markets are under sever strain.

Owners at the upper end of the market have in some cases accepted lower rentals this year than they were earning 2 years ago. The lower end of the market between R6k – 8k has been more resilient with landlords achieving increases of 5% on average.

The cause of the slow down is not down to one factor. Different market segments (Apartments / Houses, City Bowl /  Suburb, Premium / Standard ) are affected by a combination of factors.

  • Drought,
  • Tenant fatigue (arising from the strong run on CT rentals in the past few year),
  • New stock coming to the market,
  • Air B&B investors reverting to the long-term rental market following a poor year and
  • General economic and political uncertainty that has reduced enthusiasm.

The general consensus is that conditions will not change in the short term. Once the drought and politics / economics begin to move in the right direction we can expect property market to begin to shift.

We expect that the next 12 months will be a period of consolidation and reset in the market. This could take longer if there is not clear direction from the economy – we should look for GDP growth to improve considerably (2.5% to 3%) and to stabilise at that higher level before expecting a significant change.

In the meantime owners should be working to;

  • Keep their rental properties in good condition so that they are in ready for marketing when they need to find a tenant
  • Do everything possible to keep good tenants (tenants that pay well and look after the property nicely).
  • Price your property competitively when marketing or re-negotiating .
  • Ensure that your tenant vetting process is robust – the cost of taking on a bad tenant exceeds the benefit.
  • Ensure that current tenants are carefully managed.

Contact us for a free consultation if you are selling, renting or investing.

 

 

 

 

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Consumer Protection Act – application of notice periods and who is a consumer

An update from STBB attorneys highlights a case decided by the western Cape High court in March 2018.

Of relevance to landlords is that co-occupants enjoy the same rights under the CPA as tenants, and that provided 20 days notice of breach (allowing rectification) is given to the tenant / co occupiers the lease agreement can be cancelled if the breach is not remedied in the allowable time period,

the court was asked to decide if;

  1.  A co-occupant is a ‘consumer’ and could invoke the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA).
  2. The landlord was required to specify to the tenants that they had 20 days to remedy their breach or was it only necessary to afford a tenant 20 days within which to remedy the breach, before a lease may validly be cancelled.

The court decided that given the facts

  1. The co occupant was a consumer and was covered by the CPA
  2. There is no requirement, express or implied, that the consumer must be expressly notified of the fact that he has 20 business days to remedy his defect. The letter of cancellation can be delivered after the full 20 business days have elapsed after notice was properly delivered.

See STBB summary of judgement for more info

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Recommended Contractors

BEE Removal  – Lawrence Woollam – Bee Keeper and Handyman Tel:  082 898 3835.  Email:  lawrencewoollam@yahoo.co.uk

CLEANING – Pro cleaning 021 911 2630 or 083 303 9419

DSTV – Aer & Sat Services – Ian Povey   021 531-2968      Cell:  0837217781 / 0839826261    E-Mail:    poves@telkomsa.net

DOORS AND WINDOWS – Denzyl Koen (Panamera) 082 9670007 – repairs to doors, windows, sliding doors  – Wood, metal, aluminium

ELECTRIC GATES AND DOOR – Louis Nell is a guru on electric gates and garage doors 021 531 4323 or 072 231 2738

Budget garage doors – Aluminium outside doors and garage doors  www.budgetgaragedoors.co.za or 021 683 0050

FIRE PLACES – Lava Fires – all things fire – call them on 021 510 3896 0r Ray at 076 769 6077 – they provide excellent service and good value for money.

FLOORS – Dustless Floor Sanding – Eddy Koning 083 7000 880 very good service, professional finish.

HOME APPLIANCE SALES and REPAIRS – Fixitt Appliance Centre or Claremont Home appliances 021 671 5004

HOUSE INSPECTION SERVICES – HouseCheck

MOVERS – Go Gorilla movers – I have had several clients use their services and always had good reports on their service and value of money.

PAINTERS

RE SELL (furniture and bric a brak)

Thistle Cottage Collectables

Lisa – call her on 082 886 4855

Hofmeyr-Mills Auctioners

ROOFERS and WATERPROOFING

Scheltema – Phone 021 638 3121

Levenbach – Phone 021 799 3000

Prize – Phone 021 671 1343

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Unlock value by creating a second dwelling on your property

Retirees and empty-nesters can unlock value by selling or renting the second dwelling or by selling the right to construct a second dwelling. They can do so without having to move away from the suburb in which they have lived for many years.

The City of Cape Town’s Municipal bylaws grant an automatic right to build a second dwelling on almost all properties in Cape Town, no mater what the zoning.

It is best to consult professionals to assist with the process as there are numerous interacting regulations that must be adhered to.

You will need

Conveyancer – to conduct a deeds search to establish if there are any restrictive conditions in the title deeds. Restrictive conditions override zoning rights so they will have to be lifted before you can proceed.

Town planner – to help you to understand the regulations as they pertain to your property.

Architect – to prepare a site plan which optimize the opportunities.

You will have to decide if you will be selling freehold title or sectional title. There are pro’s / con’s to consider. Your estate agent and conveyancer can help you weigh them up. In most cases a sectional title scheme is the best option.

There is a great deal more to the entire process. Get in touch if you would like a free consultation.  We can also recommend experienced professionals that will assist you with all aspects of a project of this nature.

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Forget the Kitchen Draw — Its time to re-evaluate the way you live.

We spend decades being organised: managing our households, families, and lives. Starting in our twenties, we have acquired : property, people, experiences, marriage, children and other relationships.

We reach an age when we step back and think about where we are, and where we want to be. There are so many competing realities: kids growing up and moving out, parents aging and possibly moving in, changes in jobs, retiring, downsizing.

We should remember the advice of John Keating (Robin Williams) in Dead Poets Society and seize the moment. Free  ourselves from the clutter we have accumulated, or we may get stuck in the mire.

How can we go about doing this?

  1. Acknowledge that change is happening.
  2. Think about how you would like to manage the change so that you can define how things will be in the future.
  3. Identify the clutter in your life. Clutter is anything that is obsolete, drains your energy or that you feel is time-consuming.

•Objects: It could be paperwork in boxes that you haven’t opened for years, jewelry you no longer wear, the old business cards on your desk, or the stacks of magazines and books that you will never look at again.

•Obligations: Obsolete roles and responsibilities like boards, committees and clubs.  Shedding these can be hard because they involve other people.

•Habits: If you are a perfectionist, a procrastinator or a workaholic, you are doing yourself a disservice. These habits waste time and energy and create stress. We don’t need to be defined by what we do. Instead, we should focus more on who we are. It’s enough to be engaging, interesting and involved.

•People: People can be just as draining as piles of newspapers and magazines. If there’s someone in your life who drags you down, maybe it’s time to reconsider the relationship. It’s not easy to completely remove those people from your life, perhaps you can think about redefining the relationship. You want to be kind, but you must also be honest with yourself about which relationships nourish you, and which deplete you.

  1. Let go of what you identified as holding you back. Change can be hard work – if you reduce the things that hold you back, you can travel further and faster with the same effort.
  1. Keeping moving this is not a once off event. Having started the journey keep the focus and direction clear and commit to staying on the journey.

Good luck

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Estate agencies are not passing on efficiencies from improved technology.

Metamorphosis of the estate agency.

This article by Vivian Warby appeared in the Weekend Argus 24 June 2017,  highlights changes in the real estate market and how different agencies are reacting.

In summary;

Globally, online portals dominate the real estate market particularly in relation to buyers. This is certainly true in South Africa where Property24 and Private Property are the first port of call for interested buyers. New technology enables agencies to work smarter and more efficiently.

We have seen the emergence of start up agencies seeking to leverage these changes – they offer sellers low or zero commission services – but with reduced or zero agent involvement.

Most buyer and sellers, prefer to deal through an experienced real estate agent. This is because no real estate transaction is the same. Each deal has its own peculiarities which most home owners are unlikely to have seen before. Buyers and sellers prefer to deal with a credible, professional expert able to give prudent and sensible advice. 

The daily  activities of an estate agent have changed considerably over the years as a result of the technological changes in the industry. There is no doubt that a key element remains, the services of a person with the requisite knowledge and experience to facilitate the closing of deal between 2 parties.  

Efficiencies gained by agents have not be passed on to clients. 

The Bestnet.Property approach is to passes on efficiencies to our clients,  without cutting back services.

We provide full service to clients at very competitive rates.