Ongoing Water Outages and No Support from House Mouse Properties

I am a tenant renting through House Mouse Properties, and I am deeply concerned about the ongoing lack of water on the property and the very poor response from both the agents and the owner. Since May 2025, we have had repeated water outages. Many times, there was no reply to my calls or messages, even when we had no water at all. The agents often say, “it’s probably just the pump”, but then do nothing to make sure it is fixed. I was never given clear contact details for the person who is supposed to handle the pump or water system. On several occasions, the owner ignored my texts and refused to help. The owner also started locking the gates and refused to give tenants keys, which means we cannot reach the pump when there is a problem. This has left us without water many times.

On 23–24 November 2025, we had no water again. The agents did not reply to any messages. The owner ignored my texts. The terrain worker was not on site. The young owners of The K9 Company, who are also tenants and do have keys for the gates, suggested that our 50-year-old neighbour crawl through a hole in the fence and walk through the veld in the dark to reach the pump and switch it on. We only regained access to water at around 11:00 the following day, after The K9 Company attended to their dogs and, in the process, dealt with the pump.

Water is a basic human need, and the law requires landlords and agents to make sure tenants have reasonable access to it. The ongoing negligence from House Mouse Properties has affected my safety, dignity, health, and daily functioning. I am now taking this matter to the Rental Housing Tribunal, but I am posting here so that other tenants can be aware of the risks and the lack of accountability. I hope this review will encourage House Mouse Properties to take responsibility, fix the water system properly, respond to tenants, and ensure that no one else is put at risk because of poor management.