Every scheme has one! That tenant who will simply not adhere to the rules and should be living on a farm far away from other people, not in your community scheme.
We are often asked by trustees to get in touch with an owner and to demand the removal of their tenant with immediate effect. Can one actually do this?
In all probability, such a tenant is likely to be behind in their rent and the owner is probably already going through the process of having them removed. But what if this is not the case?
The simple answer is that one cannot demand that an owner remove their tenant, nor can one try and incorporate a rule to this effect in your Conduct Rules. The CSOS will simply not accept or enforce such a rule.
So what is the solution?
First step is to engage with the owner to make them aware of the problem. The owner is responsible for the actions (or lack thereof) of their tenant, which means that fines for unacceptable behaviour are levied against the owner. No owner wants to receive constant threats of fines and in all likelihood, will remove such a tenant as soon as they are able to. In the very least, they will not renew the lease.
But what if the owner refuses to co-operate?
Your rules need to have a dispute resolution procedure (we’ll look at this next month) as well as approved fines which can imposed. You simply make the owner’s life miserable until they come to their senses! It’s amazing how repeated fines (appropriately levied of course), can boost the reserves of a scheme.
A word of caution – refusal by the owner to terminate a lease prematurely mustn’t be interpreted as a refusal to co-operate. Legal processes are costly and take time, and there is no guarantee of success. Often the only option is to wait for the lease to expire. If the owner is promising to address matters with their tenant, and promising not to renew the lease, that is probably the best one can expect.
A final word on tenant behaviour – whilst trustees are obliged to take action when a tenant is transgressing the rules of the scheme, where a tenant is transgressing the laws of the country, this is a matter for SAPS, not for the trustees. Trustees should refrain from overstepping the mark.
And remember – nothing makes you more tolerant of a neighbour’s noisy party, than being there!