To Inspect Or Not Inspect, There Is NO Question!
To Inspect Or Not Inspect, There Is NO Question!
Too many owners overlook the importance of inspecting their property together with their tenants at the onset of their lease. They figure, I've secured a great tenant and my property is pretty much fine, I don't recall seeing any broken tiles, windowpanes or nicks in the kitchen cupboards.
But every owner is particular about how their property is handed back over, and so they should be!
So the owner duly inspects his/her property at lease end date but isn't satisfied with what they find... They claim their property was given over in perfect condition, and perhaps even claim that it was the tenant's responsibility to bring any defects or damages to their attention.
But alas, if the owner or their representative was not present at a pre-inspection of the property, and didn't sign off a Defects list addendum, they can make no claim whatsoever on any items they deem to be in sub-par standard.
To quote the Rental Housing Act 1999 [Clause 5 (3) (j)]
"Failure by the landlord to inspect the dwelling in the presence of the tenant... is deemed to be an acknowledgement by the landlord that the dwelling is in a good and proper state of repair, and the landlord will have no further claim against the tenant who must then be refunded, in terms of this subsection, the full deposit plus interest by the landlord."
In addition to owners attending the pre-inspection, we also highly recommend that photographs are taken at the time. The more the merrier. Photos should be printed and initialled by all parties and attached to the Defects List. This might seem overboard and a tad laborious, but we have seen that the money and aggravation saved, is well worth it.
If you are a landlord and don't require our services to find you a suitable tenant, we'll gladly send you anyway our Defects List template.
Simply request one from us at info@firzt.co.za
Written by: Ephraim Zaslansky - Director