Industry Members

Immediate Release

 10 October 2011

 Consumer Protection Act (CPA) – section 14  Estate Agency Affairs Board Workshop

The Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) mindful of its obligation to act transparently and to liaise with all its stakeholders regarding matters of consequence to them as agreed, at the suggestion of South African property Association of South Africa (SAPOA), to convene a workshop for the purpose of considering certain aspects of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) as they affect in particular, the position of commercial/industrial brokers, landlords and tenants.

While the CPA poses many benefits to the South African public, the Act itself enforces legislation that could potentially have a negative impact on landlords and property managers.  Section 14 of the Act, in particular, gives tenants the right to terminate fixed terms agreements on 20 business-days-notice. The landlord or managing agent can hold the tenant liable for rent as due until the cancellation date and a reasonable cancellation fee may be levied.  The determination of that reasonable cancellation fee is problematic, and may not include any future unpaid rent until a new suitable tenant is found for the property.  Section 14, while it does not apply to transactions between juristic persons, provides moreover, which provision needs to be extensively debated and reconstructed by workshop participants, that fixed term consumer agreements may not exceed a maximum period of 24 months.

The above represents some of the more contentious aspects of the CPA, which will be extensively unpacked at the workshop.  The EAAB as the statutory regulator of the estate agency sector, seeks guidance from stakeholders as to whether or not application for exemption from the provisions of section 14 of the CPA should be made to the dti for certain categories of affected persons.

The stakeholder workshop will be held early November 2011 when it hoped that consensus will be reached and a directive given to the EAAB on the implementation of any further measures that might be thought to be necessary and amicable to resolve any problems emanating from the interpretation of the CPA.

Ends/….

Margie Campbell

Acting HOD Marketing & Communications Manager

Estate Agency Affairs Board

Tel: 011 731 5633

Fax: 0865 403 663

Email: Margie@eaab.org.za

Website: www.eaab.org.za