Getting rid of a non-paying tenant

[DaavG]

PS CPA Act stipulates 20 working days to fix a notice of breach, so that would be the number of days.

[S14Phoenix]

yeah I would firstly remove the door. then slowly empty the fridge. especially alcohol - that is usually enough to make then leave on the midnight special.

[shooty]

yeah I would firstly remove the door. then slowly empty the fridge. especially alcohol - that is usually enough to make then leave on the midnight special.

None of these are allowed. You remove the door and property of tenant gets lost. Your going to have issues.

unfortunately the court route is the only way. And it can take months to accomplish.

Get correct legal advise. Taking these steps some say above cutting water. Changing locks and removing doors is going to end up bad for you and good for the tenant. Sad as it is.

[KM02]

We are considering ............. to make things uncomfortable and to force her to leave but not sure if that's a good idea.

I know someone who was in a similar position and done this. Eventually this was the only way to get rid of the tenets. Make a smoky braai outside the windows. Make noise during the nights. Cut off water and electricity whenever possible. Water the plants and just aim at the windows to make sure that they are properly closed and still water proof... etc... etc...

[Vaal]

Hmm. Are the paying and non paying tenants on the same electrical supply? If yes, as soon as the paying customer go to work or leave to go shopping, the power mysteriously trips and then by the same luck it comes on again when the paying customer come back again. Call it a bit of load shitting.
When is their favorite tv show on, that is a good time.

[Johann du Toit]

For the rental arrears issue Summons out of the appropriate Magistrate's Court (or High Court if he owes more than R 400 000.00) for the rental arrears. To get rid of him institute eviction proceedings in terms of the PIE Act.

You can do both at the same time. It's preferable to use a Summons with an automatic rent interdict to ban the deadbeat tenant from taking his/her movable with him/her in the event he/she decides to skip town to avoid the summons, so you can sell the movable items to either recover the rental arrears of a portion of your legal fees.

Do NOT disconnect water and electricity as the deadbeat tenant can get a spoliation court order to restore same, the costs of which you can be held liable for.

[BBT]

Try this out also, issue them with a written notice that you intend doing renovations to the unit as the house is going up for sale, and that you are giving them 1 months notice to move, because the builders need to start work there.
You can also perhaps say that your mum has given you the house and you intend selling it, therefore you will be doing renovations before the sale.
Get an estate agent friend to lend you 1 or 2 For sale boards to make it all look legit

[Skaaphaas]

I refrained from commenting earlier, but I think sufficient ground has been covered. It’s really difficult to advise you on a legal way of eviction if you can’t afford going the legal route. A lot of the other advice on disconnecting water and electricity or removing doors is usually a surefire way of getting yourself served with a spoliation order, but that does depend on the tenant having access to legal resources as well. Don’t discount it purely because they don’t have money for rent, oftentimes they have friends at law firms who can get a favour done.

Anyway. You can get creative with your eviction attempts from an extrajudicial point, as long as you know that you are running a few risks. There’s a Prevention of Illegal Evictions Act for a reason.

[Johann du Toit]

Extra legal means of evictiom will end up being overturned in court, thousands of rands in legal fees (more than a PIE Application) and possible criminal liability.

[30.06]

This topic has been covered extensively on Legal Talk South Africa. The tenant can be held responsible for your legal fees.