Landlord can challenge a tenant who violates lease agreement
THE 1996 Constitution is supreme. Parliament, the legislature, the executive, the judiciary, all organs of the state, every government official and all citizens are bound by the Constitution.
Every law and all legal rules, principles and values are subject to the Constitution. However during the apartheid era, Parliament was supreme, and the executive branch of the government could also create laws. Laws were created and executed with the Constitution having little or no authority. The government was vested with unfettered power.
As long as the correct procedures were followed in passing the law, there could be no constitutional challenge. The SAPS played a significant role in executing and enforcing certain laws, especially authoritarian and racist laws, and did so with impunity.
Some lawyers represented and defended the state even though the laws were cruel, discriminatory and against human dignity.
There are many instances when individuals in our democracy still have a mindset harking back to the power of the apartheid era, when laws were created to humiliate and subjugate.
In a recent case, a tenant was informed he had 10 hours to get rid of his visitor and to deposit a fine of R100 into his landlord’s account for breaking the “house rules”.
This building is not a sectional title or share block and tenants were not given rules when they concluded their leases years ago. The tenant was also informed by the supervisor that should he fail to get rid of his visitor, the SAPS would assist in “evicting” the visitor.
The tenants are fighting a battle at three levels to protect their rights against the supervisor, the landlord and their legal representative.
Can anyone in the triad arbitrarily remove a tenant’s visitor or occupant or deny him or her access to the dwelling without breaking the law? Under the apartheid state with its draconian laws, police apparatus and legal representatives could.
However, in terms of the Bill of Rights in the 1996 Constitution: The tenants’ rights to their dignity: “Everyone has inherent dignity and the right to have their dignity respected and protected” (s10)). To be treated equally: “Everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and benefit of the law” (s9(1)).
Not to be discriminated against: “No person may unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds in terms of subsection (3)” . . . (s9(4)).
In terms of section 12(1)(e): “Everyone has the right to freedom and security of the person, which includes the right -(e) not to be treated or punished in a cruel, inhuman or degrading way.” The landlord has the right to challenge a tenant who violates the terms of the lease and enjoys equal protection of all the applicable laws and the relevant constitutional provisions.
The legal representative is legally and morally obliged to inform the landlord, his supervisor or agent of the right course of action bearing in mind that all legislation is subject to the principles of the Constitution.