HELPING OUR TENANTS
It’s often said that home is where the heart is. So why do so many letting agents seem so heartless? We understand that a rented property is so much more than a house or a flat; it’s your home. As a tenant, you should feel comfortable, safe and appreciated.
Every one of our properties has a designated Relationship Manager who knows the property, the tenant and the landlord. Good communication and long-term relationships are crucial to the smooth running of our business so we’re open and honest in helping our tenants understand their rights and responsibilities throughout the letting process. In line with our company values we’re always open and we work towards finding a positive solution whenever we’re faced with a tenancy or property maintenance issue.
Happy tenants make our working day a pleasant one and long-lasting tenancies make for happy landlords and a happy letting agency. Our years of experience in the South African lettings market have taught us that communication and responsiveness are key. While it is important for us to be proactive in things like property inspections and upgrading works, it’s when our tenants need us that defines whether we succeed or fail as a letting agent.
Tenants FAQ'S
Great to hear you want to view one of our properties! You can go onto our property search page and find the property you like. Click on the Book a Viewing button. Fill in the form tell us when you’d like to see the place. Our viewing times vary, but we generally show properties on weekdays, Monday to Friday between 10:30am & 5PM. If you prefer good old conversation just give us a call and one of our team would be happy to get you booked in!
That’s great! Get in touch via our website contact form or send us an email with some details like:
The Name/Address of the property.
Your full name, phone number & email address
We will then start the application process with you
We recommend prospective tenancies for consideration to our landlords where the applicants can provide three years’ worth of address history and employment details. We would look for applicants to be permanently employed and meet the affordability criteria of their gross monthly income (combined if more than one tenant) meets at least 2.5 times the monthly rent. If this is not the case then the landlord may still proceed but expect to provide an SA based guarantor or pay a larger deposit of up to twice the monthly rent.
We normally ask for a security deposit equivalent to 1.5 month’s rent unless it is agreed with the landlord to hold a larger or smaller amount (to be negotiated at the offer stage). This security deposit will be held in an interest bearing Trust Account. Once we have your application and the landlord is happy for us to proceed with referencing you, we request a holding deposit from you (normally the full deposit amount) in order for us to remove the property from the market and commence credit checking and referencing
An inventory is an essential document which provides a written and photographic record of the property and it’s contents at the beginning of the tenancy. Our inventory contains details in full on all fixtures, fittings and contents of the property and it will be checked after the tenancy expires. You will have 7 days to check, make any comments and sign the inventory after you move into the property.
It is the tenant’s responsibility to set up a payment/stop order to pay the monthly rent. You should set this up in plenty of time before your 2nd month’s rent is due (you will have had to pay your first month’s rent before moving in). You should set your a payment/stop order up to pay us a couple of days before your monthly rent due date in order that the rent clears in our account on, or before, the rent due date. If you set up your a payment/stop order on the rent due date, your rent could be late every month and you may receive penalty charges.
Your monthly rent payment should be paid in full from one bank account. So, if you’re sharing with some flatmates, please nominate one person to pay us each month and please transfer your portion of rent to them a day or two before this date.
Alternatively you can set up a joint bank account with your flatmates and each pay your rent portion into this account each month then set up a payment/stop order to pay the full amount from this joint account to us.
If you have a maintenance issue at your property simply go to our Report a Repair page on our website and follow the instructions and guides. Our tenants find they can resolve many maintenance issues quickly following the guides available on our website. If you follow these steps and are still unable to resolve things you can raise a maintenance ticket and your property manager will deal with it within 24 hours or by the next working day.
If you have a maintenance issue at your property simply go to our Report a Repair page on our website and follow the instructions and guides. Our tenants find they can resolve many maintenance issues quickly following the guides available on our website. If you follow these steps and are still unable to resolve things you can raise a maintenance ticket and your property manager will deal with it within 24 hours or by the next working day.
If you have a maintenance issue at your property simply go to our Report a Repair page on our website and follow the instructions and guides. Our tenants find they can resolve many maintenance issues quickly following the guides available on our website. If you follow these steps and are still unable to resolve things you can raise a maintenance ticket and your property manager will deal with it within 24 hours or by the next working day.
CONDENSATION IS NOT DAMP! Condensation is created when a property is not ventilated well enough and becomes evident when there is a difference in temperature between inside and outside. It is a tenant’s responsibility to make sure condensation and mould do not build up in a property. Make sure you open your windows and doors to ventilate your property and don’t turn off the extractor fan in internal bath/shower-rooms. If you are concerned that mould in your property may be related to damp, please let us know ASAP and we’ll organise a damp specialist to survey the property to give us their professional opinion.
Sorry to see you are thinking of leaving us! The flexibility of renting is great for exploring new opportunities so we hope your next home works out for you. The first step to serving your notice to vacate is check what your lease agreement says about your notice period. If you are still within a fixed term, you may not be able to terminate your tenancy without the landlords approval. If you are outside of your fixed term, then check what amount of notice your lease says you must give.
No way! The deposit is held against the property to cover damage and settle any outstanding amounts at the end of the tenancy. We are not able to touch the deposit until after the tenancy so if you don’t pay your last month’s rent the landlord will be out of pocket and will not be happy….and you will be in breach of your contract.
Yes!
- Ensure you leave the property in a clean and tidy condition that is suitable for Pure PM to re-let. If cleaning is required the costs will be deducted from your deposit.
- The utilities should be paid in full up to your vacating date. It is your responsibility to contact the local municipality or Eskom to update their Records.
- Check the inventory – Please ensure that no items have gone missing or have been damaged during the term of your tenancy. If there is anything missing or damaged which is listed in the inventory this will need to be replaced. No personal belongings/unwanted items are to be left in the property.
- On the date that you vacate the property please return all keys to the office. If this is outside office hours please put them in an envelope and drop them through our office letterbox.
- Please also arrange with the post office for your mail to be redirected.
- Your deposit cannot be used to pay your last month’s rent. Please arrange for your payment/stop order to be cancelled by your bank following the payment of your last monthly rent due.
When your tenancy is over and you have vacated the property, we will carry out a check out inspection where we assess the condition of the property at the end of your tenancy compared to the start of the tenancy, by using the inventory – you are welcome to attend. If any cleaning or work is required at the property then you will be notified and the necessary work ordered. Once the invoices come back from our contractors then we can notify the Tenancy Deposit Scheme provider of the final balance (if any) to be billed against the deposit held. This process can take a couple of weeks but we do it as quickly as we can