A couple has been ordered to pay their landlord over R440 000 after they continued to live in a property in Randburg without paying rent, reports The Star.

The ruling was recently made in Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) after the landlord sought relief against the occupants, Albertina and Tshipuliso Tshisikule.

The pair started living at the property in July 2009 and the lease agreement was renewed repeatedly, the final renewal ended in July 2016.

After the lease expired, the couple remained in occupation with the landlord’s tacit consent, continuing to make rental payments.

The landlord argued that despite the non-renewal of lease agreement, he was covered by section 5(5) of the Rental Housing Act which states that if on the expiration of the lease the tenant remains in the dwelling with the tacit consent of the landlord, the parties are deemed, in the absence of a further written lease, to have entered into a periodic lease, on the same terms and conditions as the expired lease.

The landlord submitted that the old lease continued to govern the couple’s stay until it was cancelled in May 2022 following persistent non-payment.

The couple, nonetheless, remained in occupation until the end of October 2023.

Furthermore, the landlord argued that by living at the property without paying, the duo owed over R130 000 in rent and over R310 000 in holding-over damages.

The couple opposed the application, arguing there was no contractual relationship after the lease agreement ended in 2016.

They claimed an oral agreement in 2021 allowed them to stay without paying rent.

However, Judge Leonie Windell said the couple’s argument was flawed as it overlooked section 5(5) of the Rental Housing Act.

The judge found it improbable the landlord would have instituted and pursued eviction proceedings if it had indeed agreed the couple could remain rent-free.

Windell ordered the couple to pay the money with 2% interest calculated from October 2023 until final payment.

Full report in The Star

Judgment