Verbal vs Written Lease Agreements in South African Law

South African common law caters for binding lease agreements to be verbally entered into between two parties, namely the landlord (the “lessor’) and tenant (the “lessee”).

While these verbal agreements are fast and easy to conclude as well as being cost-effective and valid, they pose numerous challenges as will be summarised hereunder:

• Due to it’s oral nature, verbal lease agreements tend to be difficult to prove;
• Rights are not fully protected;
• Obligations of each party are not recorded;
• Ambiguity and vagueness;
• May lead to landlord/tenant disputes;
• May lead to factual disputes which may only be settled through costly litigation exercises;

The latest proposed amendment to the Rental Housing Amendment Act requires the landlord (lessor) to ensure that the lease agreement entered into with the tenant (lessee) is reduced to writing. The reasons for this are manyfold.

Written lease agreements offer much more protection and whilst setting out the obvious such as the rental amount as well as a description of the rented property, it carries a certain degree of certainty and clarity and sets out terms which may have been unwittingly ignored had the parties entered into an oral agreement.

The benefits of having a written lease agreement in place are inter alia the following:

• The rights and obligations of each party to the agreement are fully recorded;
• Clarity with regard to the identity of the landlord and tenant;
• Contains clear details with regards to payments, bank details, rental escalation etc;
• Sets out details regarding the commencement date, termination date and under which circumstances may the agreement be cancelled by either party;
• Less likely to lead to disputes as there will be a written contract in place.
• Mitigates unforeseen disputes between landlord and tenant;
• Provides for remedies in the case of breach;

So instead of facing a “he said she said” situation and end up spending your hard earned savings on unnecessary court litigation, contact Essy Attorneys Inc. today to complete your written lease agreement. Our offices are able to assist you and provide expert advise during the entire process.