Tenant loses huge cash invested in renovations

A JOHANNESBURG man’s ambitious plan to transform a rental property into his future home has resulted in a significant legal defeat, as a court has denied his claims for reimbursement for renovations made while renting.

- SINENHLANHLA MASILELA

The saga began in January 2010 when the tenant entered into a two-year lease with his landlord, setting an initial rent of R20 000 per month, along with utilities, and stipulating a min-imum 10% escalation upon renewal. However, both parties opted to delete certain clauses from the lease con-tract, which later proved pivotal in the ensuing disputes.

The landlord said this was done to remove any obligations he may have toward the leasing agent, Jawitz Prop-erties. Meanwhile, the tenant claimed that they had reached an oral agree-ment that he would put in an offer to purchase the property as soon as his financial position allowed him to obtain a home loan.

After the lease expired in 2012, the landlord shifted the rental agreement to a month-to-month basis, increasing the rent to R22 000. In August 2015, he relocated to Canada, and his mother, a qualified estate agent, managed the property, including the collection of rent and inspection of the property on his behalf.

The rent remained constant until December 2017, when it was increased to R 28 000. During this time, the tenant was an erratic payer; he skipped monthly payments or sometimes paid for more than one month s rent at a time.