Council may call for water, power
Landlords of residential and other property will now have to look or their tenants or monthly for their water and electricity payments. Alternatively, the council landlord opskroef all arrears in the mortgage, which retrospectively for two years. This additional responsibility of landlords arising from the constitutional court’s ruling earlier this month that city councils can hold owners responsible for a tenant or tenant’s outstanding water and electricity bill before the council received a clearance certificate will be issued. Such a certificate is necessary for the successful transfer of a property. The decision in the matter Mkontwana v Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality also means that owners of illegal occupiers’s water and power consumption can be held responsible, says Corrie de Jager of Snyman & De Jager Attorneys Centurion.
The court also ruled that city councils are obliged to owners’ written request copies of water and electricity accounts to their needs.
De Jager advised landlords to immediately ensure that:
• leases provide that tenants promptly their water and electricity bill, and that unpaid amount to breach of contract resulting in utilization of deposit and cancellation of the contract;
• Deposits are sufficient to provide for water and power consumption. Owners can even consider as a consumer for the council to register and that the tenant or the owner must pay;
• City Councils written instructions to owners of copies of the consumer account needs;
• Immediately establish whether there might be illegal water and power consumers on the property. Contact the City Council and do onsite inspections;
• Strict controls are applied to the selection of tenants and that accounts strictly monitored.
De Jager said the ruling holds far-reaching consequences, especially for landlords of commercial and industrial property because this type of property’s electricity consumption is very high. Although the decision the legal uncertainty surrounding art. 118 (1) of Act 32 of 2000 persists, there are aspects that have not been addressed yet. These include mortgagees’s priority to 118 (3) concerned and the joint and several liability of owners and occupiers that art. 49 Ordonnasies 17/39 (Gauteng) is concerned, says De Jager.