Tenant profile network and registered credit bureau, TPN, continues to play a pioneering role in the property industry with the launch of AskTPN, a unique tool which provides detailed explanations of all the respective clauses in each of its Residential LeasePack and Commercial LeasePack documents.
“Our TPN branded LeasePacks for both residential and commercial purposes include standard lease agreements as well as a host of additional documents such as the mandate, disclosure documents, application forms, suretyship, resolution, inspection documents, notice of expiry, power of attorney, notice to cancel and admission of liability, to mention but a few. With ongoing legislative changes, these documents need to be updated on a regular basis – something that potentially could cost landlords or rental agents a great deal of money if they were forced to visit an attorney each time the documents needed to be updated. ” explains TPN managing director, Michelle Dickens.
TPN therefore retains the services of specialist lawyers tasked with updating these documents on an ongoing basis as legislation is amended. TPN LeasePack members simply download the latest version to these updates.
However, the issue remains that these amended clauses – and their implications – sometimes need to be explained to both landlords and their tenants. The solution? A hyperlink – AskTPN – which explains each clause in detail from both a landlord and a tenant’s perspective.
“Irrespective of whether it’s a TPN member, landlord or tenant, they can click on any of the AskTPN hyperlinks to link to a detailed explanation which explain the rights and obligations of either party,” says Dickens. “Our ultimate goal is to better educate all parties so as to avoid disputes at a later stage. Better informed tenants and landlords will go a long way towards to ensuring that rental agreements run smoothly, with each party understanding the implications of each and every clause in their agreement.”
In an effort to transform the industry with a greater degree of professionalism, Dickens has dedicated much of her efforts since launching TPN in 2000 to innovation. This has resulted in a number of ‘firsts’ for the industry of which AskTPN is the most recent innovation. “This is a unique concept for South Africa and I am not aware of anything similar either locally or internationally,” says Dickens.
