Breach of Lease Agreement: Deposit not refunded and Bank Statement not Provided

Unit 58 Cara Bianca, Broadacres - Belonging to Eastcliffe Investments,

I'm annoyed typing this because I should be studying for my test tomorrow, yet I'm here having to do this because Eastcliffe Investments and the responsible agent Lucy Oosthuis from the "Proper Team" do not take me seriously now that I'm no longer a tenant. Which I don't mind, but not when they still have my Deposit long after termination of the contract. They've breached the contract and don't even care to communicate. I asked about the date that my deposit would be paid, and Lucy advised that "Eastcliffe Investments basically has 30 days from termination before they can pay me", I referred back to my contract and it was true, there is a clause stating that. So I had to borrow money elsewhere to pay for costs that would've been paid with the deposit, and that was fair because the contract states that. I never asked about it again, until day 31 (on the 03rd) when I asked for proof of payment and never got a response from Lucy till this day. The contract also does NOT state "30 working days" it is just 30 days. Today is the 07th of March and I still have not received my deposit of just over R6k. If my debit my remaining debit orders do not go through, especially vehicle insurance this week, I will lose my cover and Eastcliffe and the Proper Team will go through the entire admin or re-instating it and paying for any related costs. My vehicle is an Uber, if it the insurance gets revoked and we are not able to operate, these two companies will between themselves see who will compensate me for the income lost due to not operating as a result of not having insurance cover.

I first viewed the apartment early December 2021 and it was already vacant. I then enquired about it on 30 December and it was still available so I took it. When I moved in the apartment was FILTHY. So filthy that I had to ask the agent to organise a cleaning company and pest control for the ****roaches and ants. The ants were sorted but I lived with the ****roaches till I moved out. Although they had been reduce, but they were still there. I moved in quite urgently, but the unit was open since early December it should have been cleaned long time ago already. I took pictures and videos of the below and shared with the client, and kept them in my gallery in case they try anything funny on termination.

- The Oven was literally covered with grease, and the grease with mould. - When you lift the toilet seat, there were strands of pubic hair as well as certain areas of the bathroom walls at the bottom. - The kitchen cupboards were filled with ****roaches faeces and ****roach eggshells. - The kitchen cupboards again still had closed and open food remains from the previous tenant. - Bedroom cupboards were oily from leaked lotions I believe, but were never cleaned. - The Bedroom carpet was FILTHY, I did not step on it barefoot for the first three weeks until the agent organised the cleaning company. I could not bring myself to do it,. The cleaning company came after a week and a half, if I remember correctly, after I reported all these and during all that time I was unable to unpack my things which interfered with my study plans and had me falling behind by almost two or three weeks. I had to eat takeaways for that period because I was going to vomit had I attempted to cook in that state.

Sadly, the cleaning company told me that they do not clean ovens, they just spray them and the customer must finish the job themselves. I cleaned the oven but i could still not get it clean. Later in the year, I cleaned it twice again and could still not get it to a state I felt comfortable to use. The grease would not disappear. So I stayed in that unit from January 2022 to January 2023 without using the oven NOT EVEN ONCE. I only told the agent this last month when I moved out because I just thought, I'll move out the next year.

One thing I will give to the agent is that, she's very attentive and tries BY ALL MEANS to help with all situations. I also suspect that the deposit repayment is not up to her any more (I don't know) but she's the only contact I have and basically she should have made sure I get my deposit in time. We've honestly had a great relationship and they even asked if I renew my lease and they'll meet me halfway by reducing the rental. But it wasn't convenient as I had changed workplaces and couldn't go another year without using the oven.

However, this situation is causing me to disregard all of that because they are withholding money I DO NOT HAVE and I will not be running after them anymore. I must mention as well, Lucy did approach me a few days before month to ask for my proof of payments and to confirm banking details so she can reconcile the account. So at least that part was done but nothing was achieved if I still do not have my money or communication.

Most importantly, I am past the stage of communication now. I'm studying today and will not be spending any more time on this and will not be answering calls relating to this, and I'm writing tests the whole day tomorrow and Thursday. So I will not be communicating with anyone and I am not looking for apologies, just for the payment to be made to me. If I do not have this money in my bank account by the time I finish writing tomorrow on the 08th, I'm posting this entire message and all the videos and pictures from when I moved in last year, on all Social Media platforms that I'm active on. Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook and Tiktok maybe that way I will be heard. I have not bought groceries, have not paid my nephew's school fees, have a pending debit order and haven't sent my mom grocery money. I am not going to tolerate this especially when no one is communicating and I don't have time for the back and forths, I'm very busy. Again, I'm not looking for an apology just my money.