DISAPPOINTMENT

My advice to owners of properties looking for a reliable agency to deal with the letting of the unit: Be careful of Prestige Properties in Faerie Glen. In June 2020 I appointed an agent of Prestige Properties in Faerie Glen to let a property. When doing the handover to her, I provided her with a comprehensive inspection report of the property to go through with the tenant, leaving space for items like condition of the garden etc. This inspection report also provided for an exit inspection of every aspect of this report. I was informed the process they follow, is that a 12 month contract with the tenant is entered into and approximately 7,5% of the annual rental amount is deducted from the first month’s rental as a “management and placement fee”. Thereafter the owner receives the full rental for the rest of the 12 months. After initial regular payments, since January 2022, the tenant failed to pay rent on the due date and payments were made as late as the 13th of the month. Concerns were raised with the agent on several occasions. It was decided that when the contract is due for renewal, the rental should increase from 1 July 2022. This increase was more than 12%, but the fee structure would change to include water and sanitation fees, which up to then had been billed separately. On 4 May The tenant indicated that he could not afford it and notice was given. According to the contract a 2 month notice period was required. On 13 May, I was called by the agent to tell me that rent has still not been paid for May and the tenant went to see her and indicated that he would like to terminate the contract at the end of May. No two months’ notice was given by the tenant as stipulated in the contract.. I asked her if she would find another tenant in about 3 weeks? She assured me she could. On 15 May she contacted me by e-mail and said the rental is too high, can she reduce it by R400? I agreed. On 24 May she informed me via WhatsApp that she could not find a tenant, everybody says it is too expensive. I reminded her that when she convinced me to agree to the early termination, I specifically asked if she would find another tenant at such short notice. I also agreed to reduce the rent to an amount she proposed. Around this time she enquired as to what colour paint was used at the unit. I reminded her that all such details are on the inspection report I gave her in June 2020. It was now clear to me that the report was not completed when the tenants moved in in 2020, furthermore no record was kept. I enquired as to when the exit inspection would be done. No date was given. I was only told that the tenant would like to meet me and discuss a few things. Even though I could not see any reason for me meeting with him, as she was our intermediary, I agreed, but as my wife was in hospital, I could only do so the next day. No exit inspection was provided to me by the agent of Prestige Properties. As already stated, the document only had to be completed against the ingoing inspection. It was provided by me in hard copy in 2020 and a copy was e-mailed again in May 2022. It was evident to me that the agent did not do an exit inspection and was avoiding meeting me at the unit and discuss issues relating to the property. The meeting with the outgoing tenant took place a day after he vacated the premises. He brought significant issues to my attention which were not identified and reported to me by the agent: 1. Damp from the shower in the adjacent room. 2. Nails in the walls that were left, as he felt the paint to repaint the walls where nails had been affixed (which is standard practice in rental contracts) was too expensive to remove them and repaint. He indicated that he was prepared to buy the paint on a 50/50 basis with the owner. He was told to just leave it. 3. Damage to a security gate, allegedly brought about by an attempted burglary that he had partially fixed. 4. He had removed the arm of one of the automated garage doors, as it was pulling skew when opened. He then removed the mechanism to open the one door manually. Remark: Brand new doors were installed in January 2022. Had the problem been brought to the attention of the owner, it would have been fixed under the warranty. The fact that it had been tampered with, rendered the warranty null and void. It cost R650 to repair. 5. He only had one remote for the main entrance to the complex and one for the automated garages. (Remark: Two of each were handed to the letting agent in June 2020) He undertook to replace the missing main entrance remote, but said he never received a second one for the garages. I enquired about the second garage remote from the agent via WhatsApp and she responded that his ex-partner must have it. He however indicated that he had checked with her and she also said they only had one. I responded to the agent in this regard via WhatsApp, but from hereon she ignored communication from me. The WhatsApp still remains unread. He then asked me to provide him with the costs of both the remotes and undertook to pay it. By 18 June no payment had been received. The prices are respectively R159.00 and R239.00. According to me: 1. The agent from Prestige Properties should have undertaken the exit inspection and should have ensured that any discrepancies are dealt with. She should not have disappeared when she should have taken responsibility and accountability for her role as letting agent. 2. I sent her an e-mail indicating that should the remotes not be paid by the outgoing tenant, I will approach her as responsible agent. I also indicated the “placement and management fee” was supposed to generate a rental income for 12 months, according to the contract. With her approaching and convincing me to terminate the contract after 11 months, I believe a pro rata refund should be made. This amounts to R725.66. Twelve days after sending this e-mail, no response whatsoever has been received. No refund either. 3. Because no rent was paid for the final month and the deposit had to be used to cover it, no recourse was available to recover any losses. 4. She failed to provide adequate administrative and inspection duties in accordance with the payment made to her. Therefore, landlords, be careful. My experience with this specific agent of Prestige Properties in Faerie Glen is that when the going is good, all is well. But when responsibility and accountability is required, where tenants are delinquent, you cannot expect any.