Tenant behavior and lease agreements
This is somewhat of a murky area because the law, based on court cases, is clear that ultimately, the owner of a property is responsible for the actions of the tenant. Fielding questions is Elize le Roux, CEO of Xpello, a breach management and eviction solution services organisation.
FAQ's:
It is important to add the body corporate rules or house rules, and anything particular to the property to the lease. The lease itself will not always go into detail because it is often a template, used for many properties. As such it only deals with the most common obligations attached to a tenant.Q: What should a lease agreement include in terms of the rules relative to the behaviour of a tenant on the property?
Q: Can these rules extend to behaviour outside of the property that may have a bearing on the owner?
The lease agreement is applicable to the property and any part to that property. Remember any illegal activities will not be governed by the lease but by criminal law. Crime remains crime and is managed by legislation and does not have to be included in a lease.
A lease agreement should state that if a tenant or any of the occupants on the property take part in illegal activities the owner will have the right to cancel the lease agreement and demand that the tenant and all other persons occupying the property vacate.Q: What would be considered illegal behaviour of a tenant?
The landlord will not be held liable. However, if the landlord knew about the crime and did not report it, the view is that they are an accomplice to the crime.Q: If a tenant is found guilty of an offence that occurs on a rented property, how does this impact on the landlord?
There was a matter where a tenant was illegally mining on a rented property, which the owner was aware of. By allowing it, the owner was arrested alongside the tenant. However, owners do not need to worry about automatic arrest. If the tenant does commit a crime, it has to be proven that the owner was aware of the activity and did not take measures to stop it or report it. It is important for landlords and agents to realise they have a legal obligation to report any criminal activities as soon as they are made aware of those. This usually only happens when rent is skipped … then it becomes an issue.Q: The consequences of not reporting criminal tenant activities?
It is important to report the actions and the tenant to the police and should your lease make provision, you can cancel and give notice to the tenant to vacate. Should they refuse, an eviction process should be followed. Learn more about eviction procedures. This is one of the reasons why we encourage owners and landlords to engage with Xpello. For R250 per month, per lease, Xpello will use its panel of attorneys to ensure the right legal actions are taken to evict, with the least amount of stress.Q: If an owner is aware of a tenant's criminal behaviour, how should he handle it?
The tenant is liable for the actions of all their visitors and people residing with them. I would suggest a warning is given to the tenant to advise that should they continue to allow the criminal activities of the visitor/s to continue, the lease will be cancelled and they will be required to vacate.Q: What if these types of activities are being undertaken by the lease-holder's partner or a regular visitor of the tenant such as a boy/girlfriend?
The lease agreement is not automatically cancelled. The landlord will still need to cancel the lease agreement. It is always important to have contact numbers of the occupant and other persons known to the tenant. If a tenant is arrested and is in custody, the lease should be cancelled and the specified friends/family of the tenant be advised to collect personal belongings. In most instances, they do collect.Q: If a tenant is arrested, what implications are there for the owner in terms of the lease, and the tenant's belongings?
The only legal route to proceed with an eviction is to obtain a court order. As the process can be difficult if you do not have the knowledge of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction (PIE) Act and the court processes, I suggest approaching an attorney to assist. Read more on tenant rights and obligations.Q: Should a landlord/owner attempt eviction under these circumstances on their own, or hire professionals and why?
It should not. A landlord does not have control over how people will act, but if the landlord does allow the crime to continue, the neighbours may complain given that this may have an impact on the value of a property in an area.Q: Does a tenant's criminal actions have negative connotations/perceptions that may impact on quality of future tenants and even rental price?
