Question:
I live in a sectional title complex in Robindale and am writing on behalf of my neighbour who does not have access to the internet.

She has rented a unit in this complex for the past two years and her landlord insists that she pay her rent electronically some two days prior to the end of the month as he wants it available in his bank account on the first.

She has never defaulted and always pays cash into his bank account. However, she has explained to him that she does not go to the bank on Fridays or weekends due to the congestion in the shopping mall.

Furthermore, at the beginning of this year he brought round a new lease for her to sign and would not wait for her to read the document. She explained that she does not sign anything without first reading it and he insisted that she sign as he said he had to take it to the bank the next day. She has a witness to this occurrence.

Also, there is no domicile for the landlord in the document only an e-mail address and a cell phone number. Is this legal?

I would appreciate it if you could perhaps clarify the situation by advising whether she has any recourse as she does not wish to relocate at this time.

Answer:
Everything depends on the lease agreement she signed. If the lease states that the rent has to be paid by the first of each month then that is her obligation. However, the landlord cannot dictate how she achieves this.

She cannot use the excuse that malls are congested for three days of the week to delay paying the rent. If the first falls on a Friday she must pay him on the Thursday if she wants to avoid crowds.

As for blindly signing the lease — she should not have allowed him to bully her. He would not have evicted her on the grounds that she wanted to read the lease as he would have looked like an idiot in court.

Did she sign for something she did not want? If so, the court will say (if it gets to that stage) that if she signed the document then it is binding. This is why we should never blindly sign anything.

The fact that the domicile of the landlord is not indicated on the lease isn't a big issue and won't negate the validity of the lease.

She needs to accept that she agreed to pay him by the first of each month by which ever means possible. Perhaps she should sign a debit order with her bank then she never has to brave the crowds.

She must insist on getting a copy of the new lease well in advance so she can read it if she stays on for another year.