Eviction from a home can have multiple negative consequences for families including depression, poorer health and higher levels of stress and these side effects can persist for years, according to new research from sociologists at Rice University and Harvard University. The study, “Eviction’s Fallout: Housing, Hardship and Health,” is the first to examine the consequences […]

ESTA grants a right to family life, but who qualifies? Section 6(2)(d) of the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (ESTA) grants occupiers the right to “family life in accordance with the culture of that family.”  In practice, this means that a farm labourer may insist that his wife and minor children reside with him […]

Does the landlord need to advise the tenant that the lease agreement is coming to an end? Landlords are obliged to notify their tenant of the upcoming expiration of the lease agreement. This obligation will arise not more than 80 but not less than 40 business days before the expiry date of the fixed term […]

How does the landlord calculate a “reasonable” penalty for early cancellation of the lease agreement? Regulation 5 issued in terms of the Act requires the landlord to take the following into account when calculating a reasonable penalty: the amount which the consumer is still liable for to the supplier up to the date of cancellation; the value […]