Contract signed, deposit and rent paid but unable to move
We have a contract stating that we can move into a house we rented from the owner of the property on 16 December 2017. The deposit was paid as well as rental for December 2017. On 13 December we were contacted by the owner, stating that the purchase on their new property has not yet been registered and might take another month. They did offer a refund on monies paid.
This is not acceptable as we have to vacate our current property no later than 31 December 2017. I took us months to find an acceptable rental property, so we don’t want to loose this one. What are our rights in this regard?
Category: Property, Rental Matters
Region: South Africa, Gauteng
1 Answer
Hello. Your rights are stipulated in the terms of the contract. It should state what happens if the conditions are not fulfilled by one party ( breach). You should write to them to insist on the terms ( specific performance ), explaining the damage and inconvenience that will be caused. If they refuse you have the right to quantify the damage caused and sue them for the breach of contract after collecting the refund of monies paid. You can sue in a small claims court which has jurisdiction of up to 15000 rand. Alternatively you can bring an urgent application in the high court to compel them to hand over the keys on due date, as per the agreement. You will ask them to pay the cost of the application if opposed.