Tennant has unpaid utilities, has given notice.

[SlinkyMike]

A business decision is to get what is owed to you - not to do so is not a busniess decision.

Different views on this. I tend toward a mutually beneficial outcome as this is generally better in most cases.

Remember it is an expense so even the "written off" part can be claimed in next years tax return.

Aha! Thanks very much for this, I was not aware that this is the case.

Now this is the reason I posted here, for valuable information, not for the lynch mob mentality.

Thanks again SuperSunbird. Good to have this knowledge tucked away.

 

[MKFrost]

Just a question in regards to what happened to the OP and to prevent something like this.....

A person asks a deposit for the place being rented. Can one also ask for a deposit for water and electricity, say equal to the average monthly usage?

So the tenant has to pay the normal deposit plus a deposit for water and one for electricity (or a combined one where it comes on one account).

 

[supersunbird]

Different views on this. I tend toward a mutually beneficial outcome as this is generally better in most cases.



Aha! Thanks very much for this, I was not aware that this is the case.

Now this is the reason I posted here, for valuable information, not for the lynch mob mentality.

Thanks again SuperSunbird. Good to have this knowledge tucked away.

Pleasure. Had a tenant (2009) that scooted with R1083 electricity bill outstanding and it got disconnected, I claimed that expense and the reconnection fee the next year in tax return. With newest tenant I had to put the electricity account in my name (new tenants having in their name not allowed anymore for Tswhane is seems). So he just pays that amount into my account along with the rent. I just SMS him the amount billed for electricity.

Now you don't get all your money in expenses back in the tax return but it helps lessen your profit or increases your loss.

 

[Bubbles37]

Question to OP, do the bills go directly to the tenant, or does it get put on their rental statement via you or the rental agent? How long did the bill accumulate for (if you know)?

We had an owner that, if his tenants owed money before they left, he would go to them with an agreement of debt and make them sign it, then he would take their stuff and sell it. On top of that, he would likst them on TPN.

It's probably not legal what he is doing, but he owns hundred of units so he has to be doing SOMETHING right. What can the tenant do, really?

 

[ToxicBunny]

How can I force him to pay, clearly there is an issue with cash flow on his side. For both our sakes, we need to find a solution.

No, you don't need to find a solution for both sides.. you need to find a solution for you.

He owes you x amount of money, the deposit will cover x percentage. He can sell items off to cover the remainder or something.

This finding a solution that suits both sides is namby pamby and will get you walked over... when it comes to rentals and money owed, the only person who matters is you.

 

[mak2000]

OP, like you said this is business decision, the suggestion of attaching personal possessions (which is actually a more of a threat than actually taking over his possessions) is a legitimate tool to use in your negotiations with your tenant.

 

[xrapidx]

Different views on this. I tend toward a mutually beneficial outcome as this is generally better in most cases.

Mutually beneficial?

him +R10,000
you -R10,000

 

[Nerfherder]

Best practices is to include these things in the rent.

You should take a hard line with the tenant though, the reason being is that the next one will do the same to you.

Just sit the guy down and explain how it is, he pays in the diff, you make a deadline and say that you will blacklist him if he does not pay.

Its simple, otherwise you will become the local homeless shelter.

 

[HammerDown]

Clearly the best possible outcome for everyone is some kind of amicable agreement.

Lately I've been on here a lot less...it seems that most threads are run over by braindead know-it-all trolls trying to show how big their balls are...this thread is a case in point...jeeshh, give me strength...

Anyways, a while ago I went through much the same with a tenant losing his work, and then stitching me with a month's rent. I could understand their situation, and if it was me having a choice of paying school fees, food or rent, I too would've ducked my landlord. In the bigger scheme of things I'm still a LOT better off than him, so why fark his live up further.

As with you I deducted what he owned from the deposit, sucked up the difference, and moved on. 3 months later he sent me a cheque for his outstanding rent with a letter to apologize for his actions.

People go through crap and sometimes act out of character, not all people are scum.

Respect to you for wanting to settle this in a decent and mature manner.

 

[BLIXEMPIE]

I'm not going to read through the entire thread now. But I was in a similar situation. I rented out a room to some dumb b!tch who made my life hell in my own home. I gave her notice and finally she moved out. She was however liable for half the electricity that she didn't pay for months. I'm just glad the c#nt is out of my house. I will NEVER rent out to a female again. In fact, perhaps nobody ever again.

 

[SlinkyMike]

Lately I've been on here a lot less...it seems that most threads are run over by braindead know-it-all trolls trying to show how big their balls are...this thread is a case in point...jeeshh, give me strength...

Anyways, a while ago I went through much the same with a tenant losing his work, and then stitching me with a month's rent. I could understand their situation, and if it was me having a choice of paying school fees, food or rent, I too would've ducked my landlord. In the bigger scheme of things I'm still a LOT better off than him, so why fark his live up further.

As with you I deducted what he owned from the deposit, sucked up the difference, and moved on. 3 months later he sent me a cheque for his outstanding rent with a letter to apologize for his actions.

People go through crap and sometimes act out of character, not all people are scum.

Respect to you for wanting to settle this in a decent and mature manner.

Couldn't agree more.

It's actually a little scary how black and white things are for some people, and yes, there does seem to be a heavy dose of machismo at play.

It's like everyone just shouts "hang him" "sell his stuff" "curse the very roots of his family tree" ...flippen hell. It's a human being, with a wife and small kids and everyone just wants to go to the most extreme level of litigation without even weighing up the consequences. Sorry but that is some dumb sch1t, a large amount of growing up is in order IMHO.

Also: if this is the kind of behavior you condone just remember that you (or someone you love) could quite easily be on the receiving end. You don't know what the future holds. Treat people the way you wish to be treated.

 

[Maverick Jester]

Couldn't agree more.

It's actually a little scary how black and white things are for some people, and yes, there does seem to be a heavy dose of machismo at play.

It's like everyone just shouts "hang him" "sell his stuff" "curse the very roots of his family tree" ...flippen hell. It's a human being, with a wife and small kids and everyone just wants to go to the most extreme level of litigation without even weighing up the consequences. Sorry but that is some dumb sch1t, a large amount of growing up is in order IMHO.

Also: if this is the kind of behavior you condone just remember that you (or someone you love) could quite easily be on the receiving end. You don't know what the future holds. Treat people the way you wish to be treated.

This question will come up, so I'll ask it- why did you ask for advice then, given your predisposition to not resorting to the tough methods advocated here?

 

[chrisc]

When I had to pay a R41k electric bill for my tenant who vanished, I just showed it as a big loss in the accounts for the house. SARS queried it, but when I explained what had happened, allowed it as a legitimate expense, so I got a fairly large tax credit to carry forward.

 

[Vanhimself]

Different views on this. I tend toward a mutually beneficial outcome as this is generally better in most cases.



Aha! Thanks very much for this, I was not aware that this is the case.

Now this is the reason I posted here, for valuable information, not for the lynch mob mentality.

Thanks again SuperSunbird. Good to have this knowledge tucked away.

This question will come up, so I'll ask it- why did you ask for advice then, given your predisposition to not resorting to the tough methods advocated here?

As he said he would have wanted opinions and perspectives from the forum and evidently he learned something.

 

[ToxicBunny]

I will add a bit of clarification to my position...

Yes I would try and resolve the situation amicably (given certain circumstances), but the way the OP was phrased, it seemed as if that wasn't really an option and the OP was worried about the guy skipping... in the case of me worrying about the guy skipping without paying then I would play hardball.. if its a genuine honest mistake and the tenant has communicated with me then it would be treated differently.

Case in point, my tenants had issues with their bank account this month, so couldn't pay me rent on the 1st.. they came to me on the 1st, explained the situation and I was happy... they paid me yesterday... if they hadn't paid me and just kept quite, by this weekend I would be starting to get tough with them.