The impact of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 and related legislation on typical lease agreements

Abstract

The common law of lease sets out certain reciprocal rights and duties of lessors and lessees. It also provides for sui generis aspects such as the lessor’s hypothec and the protection of the lessee under the huur gaat voor koop rule. The relatively uncomplicated manner in which the common law has addressed specific issues pertaining to the law of lease has however been influenced by recent legislation that have an impact on various aspects of lease. The Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999 has entrenched parameters for the exercise of certain rights by the lessor and lessee and has introduced Rental Housing Tribunals to deal with unfair leasing practices. The Prevention of Illegal Eviction of and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998 has radically impacted on the process that a lessor has to follow where he wishes to evict a lessee who remains in occupation of a leased premises after lawful termination of a lease agreement. Most recently the introduction of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, which came into full operation at the end of March 2011, appears to have a significant impact on the law of lease in those instances where the Act finds application to a lease agreement. In this regard it must be observed that the Consumer Protection Act impacts on a lease agreement that falls within its scope in two ways: on the one hand section 14 of the Act which regulates fixed term agreements may find specific application to a lease agreement that falls within the scope of application of the said section. On the other hand, there are certain ‘general’ provisions of the Act that will find application generally to lease agreements that fall within the scope of application of the Act , even if they do not fall within the specific scope of application of section 14. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate how the various pieces of legislation indicated herein , impact on the common law of lease . The main focus will eventually be the impact of the Consumer Protection Act as such impact still has to manifest in practice.It will thus be endeavoured to present a holistic view of the ‘changing face of the law of lease’ in South Africa.