‘Lockdown: How to deal with rent and levies and how that then impacts on the legal obligation to meet residential and/or commercial rent requirements. Can a landlord threaten to blacklist a tenant who can’t pay rent? What does the law say about sectional title levies that are due? What about rental for vacated student accommodation?
1. No income due to lockdown Answer: You are obliged to pay your rental at this stage.
2. Can a tenant be blacklisted by an estate agency for failure to make rental commitments?
Answer: In principle, yes. However, the National Credit Regulator has declared that the days of the lockdown are not included in business days.
3. The Sectional Titles Act requires all owners to pay their levies no matter what.
Answer: The legal relationship between a body corporate and an owner of a sectional title is regulated by statute, and not based on the principles of beneficial occupation, etc..
4. What about rental for student accommodation?
Answer: In this case the question will arise: what was the purpose for which the property was let.
5. How many months can tenants be given rental holiday?
Answer: A commercial tenant, will be entitled to remission of rental for the full period of the lockdown. A residential tenant is not entitled to any holiday.