EVICTION (ALL-INCLUSIVE)

An eviction may occur when a person or a company is legally forced to leave a property by an order of court.

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What is an eviction?

 

The Constitution provides that no person's property may be taken away from him/her/it and that no person/business may be evicted from his/her/its leased property without a court order.

 

This means that an owner or a person in charge of a property (“landlord”) must apply to the court before evicting a tenant from his/her/its property.

 

The procedure for obtaining an eviction order is different for residential properties compared to commercial properties.

 

Commercial Properties

 

Eviction proceedings in relation to commercial properties are not governed by the PIE Act, however, these proceedings can also become very complex and we suggest that you contact an attorney well versed in property law and contractual law.

 

A lease agreement governs the relationship between the tenant and a landlord, the agreement only terminates in the majority of cases due to the following two reasons:

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1. effluxion of time; or

2. cancellation of the agreement due to a breach of a material term of the lease agreement by either party.

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The cancellation of an agreement is an important step in the eviction process and has to be done in terms of the agreement or if the agreement is silent in this regard, the cancellation must be done in terms of the provisions of our common law.

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Most lease agreements require that you first place the defaulting party on written terms to remedy its breach within a specified time before the agreement may be cancelled formally.

 

An eviction may be brought through the Magistrates Court or the High Court by either instituting action or application proceedings. Your attorney will be able to advise you on the best way to initiate these proceedings.