Rent a Property

Looking for a rental property? We can help.

 

THE SEARCH

All our available properties are on our website. We make the listing information as complete as possible so that you can narrow down your search.

Be especially mindful of the following aspects:

  • Price: a guideline is that your income should be about three times the rental.
  • Date available: Landlords don't like vacant properties. If you are only looking for it in a few months, and it is vacant now, we cannot "keep" it for you.
  • Deposit required: It is usually more than one month's rent and payable before you can move in. The deposit will be held in an interest-bearing trust account linked to your name, and you will see how interest accrues to it monthly. Your landlord may however wish to invest the deposit himself.
  • Costs included and excluded: The rental most likely excludes electricity, water, and gas, usually metered, and charged according to consumption. Other costs, such as refuse and sewerage, may also be payable on top of the rental. Make sure you budget for that, too.
  • Parking: Does the place you are interested in have enough parking to meet your requirements?
  • Pets: Complexes have rules about pets that need to be adhered to. If it says pet-friendly, pets are allowed (sometimes prior permission is required). Only if it states that the place is pet-friendly are pets allowed. Do not view a property if it clearly states that no pets are allowed, and you have pets - you will only be disappointed!
  • Security measures: What you see is what you get. If you would like any added measures, the time to ask for them is before you apply for the property.
  • Condition of the property: As with security measures, ask if the landlord will replace the carpet or kitchen top or make any improvement you would like before you apply. The landlord is only obliged to maintain the property in the same condition as it is when you move in.
  • The appointment: When you enquire, the agent working with the property will contact you to make an appointment to view. As we respect the fact that the outgoing tenant still pays for the property, we try to schedule appointments to suit them, and this may mean that you have to view the property at the same time as other interested parties. Just a tip: if you are late or do not turn up for an appointment without letting the agent know you have a problem, you disqualify yourself as a potential tenant.

THE APPLICATION PROCESS

  • Starting the process: if you are interested in applying for a property, the agent will email your forms to complete and ask for supporting documentation. Only when all the required documentation is received will your application be processed. When more than one tenant is interested in a property, all the applications will be processed simultaneously and presented to the landlord for a decision.
  • FICA: By law, we must do FICA screening before onboarding a client. We can enter into a business relationship with you if you provide us with the necessary information to complete this screening.
  • The holding deposit: You will be sent an invoice for 25% of the deposit and the processing costs. We ask you to pay the holding deposit to show you are serious about the application. Only when this deposit shows in our account will the application be processed. The 25% holding deposit will be refunded without delay if the application fails. The processing cost is not refundable.
  • Factors we consider when processing your application: We shall verify your identity, confirm affordability by looking at your sources of income and bank statements, do credit checks with various credit bureaus, ask your previous landlord for a referral, and confirm your employment status. Once we have done all these screenings, your application will be discussed with the landlord, who will decide whether we may continue to place you as a tenant.
  • Approved application: Once approved, you will be sent a lease agreement to sign and an invoice for the balance of the deposit. You are onboarded as a tenant only when the signed lease agreement and deposit are received. Please attend to these to avoid the cancellation of the approval, in which case you will forfeit your 25% holding deposit.
  • Moving-in date: The agent will arrange a date and time to meet with you to do the joint moving-in inspection and hand over the keys to you. Because the property is often vacated on the same day the new tenant must move in, keys may only be available after noon on the moving-in date.
  • The moving-in inspection: The purpose of the moving-in inspection is to record the property's condition when you take occupation. The items noted are not a snag list of items the landlord must attend to. Suppose there are items identified which will influence your usage of the property. In that case, the agent will bring it to the attention of the maintenance team, and it will be attended to as soon as possible - not necessarily immediately. Photographs of every nook and cranny of the property are taken, and we keep these photographs on file to refer to when you move out.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION WHILE YOU LIVE IN THE PROPERTY

  • Rental payment: If it is a managed property, you should receive a statement from us around the 25th of the month detailing all costs for which you are liable. Unless a different date has been agreed to in the lease agreement, this outstanding amount should be reflected in our account by the 1st of the month. Should the 1st fall on a weekend or public holiday, you must make payment timeously. Late payments are logged on the TPN system and may adversely affect your ability to rent a property in the future.
  • Maintenance required: You are responsible for reporting any maintenance issues to Linprop Maintenance via WhatsApp at 082 602 5331 or email at [email protected]. Our maintenance team will inform your landlord and request approval for the relevant contractor to either assess and quote/assess and attend to the repair. Once the landlord gives us the green light, our maintenance coordination team will arrange with a contractor to make an appointment with you for access to the property to quote or to attend to the work, depending on the nature of the work.
  • After-hour emergency maintenance issues: A staff member is always handling the Maintenance phone after hours. However, only emergencies are attended to after hours, between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., and on weekends and public holidays. Emergencies are matters such as a burst geyser or water pipe, which need to be attended to immediately to prevent further damage or matters that put your security or lives at risk. Only WhatsApps are accepted after hours - no calls.
  • Interim inspections: If it is a managed property, an inspector will contact you every 3 - 6 months to make an appointment for an interim inspection. This inspection aims to give the landlord feedback on the property's condition and advise him on the maintenance required. It is the landlord's prerogative to attend to the items suggested. Please do not use this opportunity to report regular maintenance issues - they must be reported to Linprop Maintenance as soon as you become aware.
  • Upkeep of the property: It is your responsibility to keep the property clean and pest-free, maintain and water the garden if there is one, and keep the pool blue. Consumables such as light bulbs and remote batteries must be replaced at your own cost. If there is accidental damage, such as a broken window, you must repair it at your own cost.

EXPIRY OF THE LEASE AGREEMENT

  • Renewal: Our office administration will contact you about two months before the end of the lease to find out if you want to renew for a fixed term, continue the lease on a month-to-month basis, or end the lease. Should you renew for a fixed term, a new lease agreement must be signed, and your deposit must be topped up.
  • Notice on a fixed-term agreement: The Consumer Protection Act prescribes that any fixed-term agreement can be cancelled by giving twenty business days' notice. The Act also allows for a reasonable cancellation penalty, which is agreed on in the lease agreement. The penalties are only effective after the notice period has lapsed. This means that if you opt to cancel your lease agreement before the initial period expires, you may be responsible for penalties to the value of up to three month's rental amount. We will always endeavour to find a replacement tenant as soon as possible.
  • Month-to-month rentals: Please note that you are usually required to give one paid calendar months' notice if you want to end the lease to avoid penalties as per your lease agreement. That means we should receive your notice by the end of the month preceding the month you plan to vacate the property.
  • Access for new potential tenants: The agent marketing the property to find a new tenant will request that you indicate when viewings can be scheduled at least twice a week. We ask that the place be clean and presentable when potential tenants view it.
  • The moving-out inspection: The agent will arrange a date and time to do the inspection with you and collect the keys. It is in your interest to be present during this inspection, as it may affect the timing of your deposit refund.
  • Your deposit: The best way to ensure that it is refunded within seven days after vacating the property is to hand it over in the same condition as when you received it. At the moving-out inspection, photographs of the property are again taken, and these photographs are compared to the photographs taken during the moving-in inspection. The deposit can be released without further delay if there is no difference or damage.
  • What if there is damage? Linprop will obtain three quotes for every item identified, and you, as an outgoing tenant, can then choose which quote is acceptable. Depending on whether the tenant was present during the moving-out inspection, the deposit will be released fourteen to twenty-one days after all reparations have been done (fourteen days if the tenant was present at the moving-out inspection.) The bottom line is it is in your hands when your deposit will be refunded - you know what damage has been caused during your tenancy - attend to it even before you move out!

In conclusion, the lease agreement is a critical document that documents the rules of the rental relationship. Make sure you understand your responsibilities and your rights in terms of it.