Legal advice session on wills and rental
IN ITS endeavours to empower women in Langa and surrounding townships, the Langa Community Advice Services will on August 21 hold a Woman’s Day housing and rental information session for women where they will share legal advice on housing and rental issues with homeowners.
The Langa Community Advice Centre – a non-profit organisation that provides access to information in the area with the aim of assisting the public with access to legal information, consumer-related complaints, awareness and education of rights – said there was a lack of information in the area, especially for women.
Langa Community Advice Services project co-ordinator Viwe Sandlana said they had invited a team of experts to share information with women, especially the elderly, who were the majority of homeowners and landlords in the area. “We need to make sure women in Langa understand the importance of having a title deed and a will,” Sandlana said.
“Most people should have a will as it enables them to distribute their property according to their wishes. Having a will means that you, rather than the state’s laws, decide who gets your property when you die to avoid family conflicts,” he said.
“When you die without a will or other estate plan, state laws decide which family members will inherit your estate and in what proportion. In most cases your spouse, children, or parents take priority under intestate succession.”
Sandlana said their research showed that many families in the area still remained in houses registered in deceased family members’ names.
“The concept of the African family home, where the house was passed from the owner to the next kin person in the line, provides us with many problems, so the importance of having a valid title deed is also essential.”
Sandlana said that through this information session, with the help of rental tribunal experts they would be able to share how rentals function, how to avoid lease difficulties, such as disagreements between the tenant and the landlord, the importance of paying rent on time and the importance of issuing and keeping receipts.