Evictions
When a Tenant of your property fails to pay rental timeously or breaches any of the other provisions of your lease agreement, the eviction procedure is to be followed.
There are three types of eviction processes that can be distinguished from one another, being eviction through the PIE process, ESTA process or Commercial Evictions. At Hannes Pretorius, Bock & Bryant Attorneys, we will guide you through this severely legislated field of law by delivering top-notch legal advice tailor-made to your situation.
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa provides that no person may be evicted from his/her home without a court order and that no person may be deprived of his/her property rights. The above-mentioned legislation together with the Consumer Protection Act places several requirements that have to be met before an eviction order can be granted, which can be summarised as follows:
Step 1: The tenant breaches the lease agreement and the Landlord should notify the tenant of this breach and provide him with a time period to rectify this breach.
Step 2: If the breach is not rectified within the allotted time period, the Landlord may proceed to cancel the lease agreement and request that the Tenant vacate the property.
Step 3: If the Tenant does not vacate the premises, the Landlord`s Attorneys will then approach either the Magistrate Court or the High Court with the eviction application and the Court will then provide a date for a hearing of the matter.
Step 4: The above-mentioned notice is to be served on the Tenant and all other unlawful occupiers of the property within a certain time period before the Court date.
Step 5: At the court date, the Tenant and all other unlawful occupiers are to be present at Court. If the matter is undefended, a date to vacate the property will be arranged and a Court order to that effect will be an issue. If the matter is defended, a second date will be obtained to argue the matter and after that, the Court will hand down judgment in regard to vacating the property.
It is therefore imperative to arrange a consultation with your attorney as soon as possible after the breach of the lease agreement to make sure that the right steps are followed during the eviction process.
