The Consumer Protection Act and the Rental Housing Act aims to balance the rights of landlords and tenants when concluding lease agreements. This is to ensure that fair practices are adhered to and exploitation is kept to a minimum. 

It is not often that one comes across a written lease agreement which makes no provision for a termination clause. In the event that the agreement does not contain such a clause, the agreement can be cancelled in terms of Section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act, 68 of 2008. Section 14(2) provides that a party to the agreement may give twenty (20) business days’ written notice to terminate the agreement.

If the lease agreement is a verbal one and continues on a month-to-month basis, then in terms of Section 5(5) of the Rental Housing Act (RHA) a party wishing to cancel the agreement can do so by giving at least one month (ordinary days) written notice to cancel.

The Rental Housing Act states that upon commencement of a lease, if a deposit is required by the landlord, this deposit must be invested in an interest bearing account with a financial institution at an interest rate applicable to such an account. The interest accrued thereon, subject to whether the tenant is liable for any amounts due in terms of the lease, must be paid to the tenant when the agreement comes to an end.  

The Rental Housing Act also makes provision for ingoing and out-going inspections. It is crucial for both the landlord (or their agent) and the tenant to be present at the respective inspections. It is preferable that the inspections are held when the property is vacant in order to asses any damages. If a landlord (or their agent) is not present during such an inspection, they run the risk of not being able to claim any damages, if any, upon termination and/or expiry of the agreement.