Eviction Simplified
Eviction NoticeEviction Orders
Delinquent Tenants Or Unlawful Occupants
Eviction & Rental Recovery
Time & Cost
Avoiding Costly Delays
To evict a tenant lawfully, a good start to minimising costs and losses is to act quickly and effectively while avoiding unnecessary delays.
Landlord's Rights
PIE Protects The Landlord Too
Although a solid rental agreement simplifies eviction procedures, the lack thereof does not imply that unlawful occupants can not be evicted.
Save Costs
Doing It Right The First Time
Since an occupant can decide to vacate a property at any stage during the eviction process, the cost can significantly vary with circumstances.
Recovery of Cost
Rent Arrears And Damages
The rent arrears recovery procedure is usually initiated alongside, and runs in conjunction with the application for eviction procedure.
Remote Consultation
Client Relations
The nature of eviction procedures allows for remote consultations. Save cost and time-consuming hassles of traffic and meetings.
Restoring Ownership
Reclaim Your Property
Property owners are entitled to earn a decent return on their valuable investments – hassle-free and without constant fear of possible calamity.
Eviction Lawyers
Importance Of The Lease
Lease Agreement
When a landlord undertakes to rent out property to a tenant, in exchange for payment, this relationship could be governed by any of a written, verbal or tacit Lease Agreement.
Rental Claims
If a tenant defaults on rental, the landlord is entitled to uphold the lease agreement and claim the rent while a claim for damages may also be instituted in respect of loss suffered.
Attorneys For Eviction
Eviction Of Tenants
Quite understandably, landlords sometimes resort to evicting undesirable tenants themselves just to find themselves in a much worse predicament than before.
Lock-outs, power-cuts and other such tactics used by a landlord- play right into the hands of tenants who refuse to move out of leased premises as they cannot be evicted by an owner of a property.
This is because the owner of a property cannot evict unlawful occupants — only the Sheriff of the Court can — and in instances where force or intimidation was used, the landlord’s legal position could be compromised to the extent that the occupier is permitted to stay on the property indefinitely.
Indeed prevention is better than cure, and cheaper than evicting tenants for non payment of rent, but should a problem arise, it is advisable to consult an eviction attorney without delay. The cost of consulting an expert is marginal compared to the cost and losses incurred during the unlawful occupation of a property. The tenant eviction process in South Africa can be a rather intimidating affair.
Specialist Eviction Lawyers
Eviction Attorneys On Call
CILNA STEYN
Tel: 086-100 7757
Managing Director at SSLR Inc. Cilna acts on the panel of experts for the Law Society of South Africa’s Legal Education and Development and is an author for LexisNexis on the topic of Lease and Eviction.
NICHOLAS BRODIE
Tel: 086-100 7757
Having completed his BCom and LLB degrees, Nicholas is a Director at SSLR where he handles matters including eviction and rental collections, pertaining to commercial, retail and industrial property.
Bradley Aliphon
Tel: 031-020 0326
Bradley obtained a B Proc degree and acquired extensive experience in property litigation. For over three decades in private practice, he specialised in civil litigation law with special focus on evictions.
Legal Structures
Eviction Order
Once the notice-period has lapsed, the property owner can apply for a court order known as an ‘ejectment order’, which authorises the Sheriff of the Court, to remove a tenant not paying rent, or any other unlawful occupants, from the property.
The eviction process is technically complex and getting an eviction order without a knowledgable lawyer in South Africa is highly unlikely if at all possible.
If, for example, any of the various steps of the eviction procedure are left out, or done out of sequence, the application for an eviction order could be jeopardised, or the eviction process can be delayed.
Besides adding significantly to the legal costs, delaying the process could furthermore exacerbate the situation not only by leading to a greater loss of rental income, but also the risk of damage to the property.
Professional Advice
Expert Solutions To Rental Disputes
Residential
Commercial
Industrial
Sectional Title
Legal Instruments
Eviction Notice
Unlawful occupants need to be notified of the property owner’s intention to have them evicted. An application is brought before the Court to have a written notice, stating the owner’s intention to evict, served on the occupants. A tenant can then choose to oppose the eviction, ignore it or move out. The tenant’s reaction to the notice of eviction could provide an early indication of what the landlord should expect.
Steps Required For Legal Eviction
Eviction Process
The eviction process is complex and can be technically challenging. Obtaining an eviction order for residential leases in South Africa requires some important steps.
01. Letter Of Demand
In the first step, a tenant in breach is placed on terms by the landlord or eviction attorneys with the help of a mora letter (LoD).
02.Cancel Agreement
After the period allowed to remedy the breach, the agreement is cancelled by serving a cancellation letter on the tenant, if still in breach.
03. Eviction Application
Refusal of occupants to vacate the premises could initiate an eviction. This would be the start of Court proceedings against the tenant.
04. Eviction Order
The Sheriff of the Court will be authorised by the Court to attend to the eviction of the occupants through an eviction order.