WE NEED RENTAL ACT

Sir,

It is a fact that rental property for residential use is not properly regulated in Eswatini. The types of rental units, the prices charged and the rights as well as obligations involving property, owners and tenants need to be looked into. Written lease agreements, deposits and interest, habitable and uninhabitable structures and maintenance of property are some of the crucial things that the Act needs to address. I congratulate government on the development of the Sectional Titles Act but what should be next is the Rental Property Act. This Rental Property Act will protect both the property owner and their tenants.

Deposit

The issue of paying a deposit before being given the keys to a rental property should be handled properly. For example in South Africa, the South African Rental Property Act requires that the landlord deposits this money into an interest bearing account.
The tenant has the right to request a statement of interest earned on his money at any time. The tenant is entitled to receive the deposit and all interest earned on the money over the period it was held for, at the end of the lease agreement period.

Protected

The property owner must also be protected, for example the issue of maintenance must be clearly defined; a TV mounted on a wall that causes damage to the wall should be the responsibility of the tenant and their deposit might decrease at the end of the lease agreement period in order to fix the holes in the wall. In such an instance though, the property owner must show the tenant the exact receipts showing the costs of these repairs.

Included

Many more important aspects should be included in this Act. It is my hope that this letter grabs the attention of the relevant powers that be as we move forward with Vision 2022.

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