This is a residential lease agreement that is NOT subject to the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act. It is one that is for use by landlords that lease residential property either on a once-off basis, or SO INTERMITTENTLY that such residential leasing arrangement does not constitute regular trade or business on the part of the landlord, and NOT in the ordinary course of business, e.g. you are a general manager in a bank who owns a flat for holiday purposes in Cape Town; you lease this to a cousin for a few months who is working there on a short-term contract; arguably the CPA does not apply. (We are of the opinion however that few residential leasing transactions will NOT be subject to the CPA. In fact there are legal schools of thought that believe that even the latter situation should be regulated by the CPA; the situation currently is not abundantly clear, and such may be clarified in time by our courts and we recommend that you err on the side of caution.)

HOWEVER, if you regularly lease out the flat, then you are obliged to ensure that the residential lease agreement that you (as landlord) sign with your current tenant IS CPA-compliant, provided-of course- that your tenant constitutes a “consumer” under the CPA. Please see further below.

PLEASE NOTE: A residential lease pack will be made available shortly that IS compliant with the Consumer Protection Act and will be intended for use by landlords and residential agents who/that lease residential property in the ordinary course of business. This lease pack shall comprise the following documents in plain English: a residential lease agreement, a managing agent services agreement, a suretyship, a landlord’s disclosure document, an inspection document and a resolution.

For quotes for the drafting of customised, plain-English, CPA-compliant residential lease agreements for landlords who lease residential property in the ordinary course of their business, please e-mail info@sitllegal.co.za.

This residential lease agreement:

  • is easy to understand and complete;
  • is for residential rental transactions that are not subject to the CPA;
  • is legally substantive;
  • is bordered;
  • has pages numbered;
  • is fully justified;
  • is typed up using Tahoma font, size 10;
  • has been meticulously spell-checked;
  • is extremely professional in its appearance;
  • has several drafting notes therein to guide a legal practitioner; and
  • can be printed onto 6 A4 pages. (In the interests of the environment, it is suggested that the agreement rather be printed back to back on 3 pages.)

This agreement should be used in instances where a landlord wishes to lease a townhouse, flat, garden cottage and such like to a lessee. The landlord is advised to do a credit check on the lessee and to obtain at least three cogent references.

The RESIDENTIAL LEASE AGREEMENT constitutes the following clauses:

  1. PARTIES
  2. DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION
  3. LEASE
  4. PERIOD
  5. DEPOSIT
  6. RENTAL
  7. USE OF THE PREMISES
  8. OCCUPANTS
  9. MAINTENANCE
  10. LESSOR’S RIGHT OF WAY
  11. IMPROVEMENTS
  12. SUB-LETTING
  13. EXCLUSIONS
  14. RETURN OF THE PREMISES
  15. LESSOR’S REMEDIES FOR BREACH
  16. ELECTRICITY AND OTHER CHARGES
  17. LESSOR’S HYPOTHEC
  18. JURISDICTION
  19. NOTICES AND DOMICILIUM
  20. GENERAL

Please read carefully through the agreement and fill in all missing details; in preparing a signature document, please have regard to all the notes we have placed hereon to assist you with the conclusion of a professional, legally binding agreement.

Constructive feedback concerning this agreement can be emailed to info@sitllegal.co.za.