My landlord has disconnected my water

• Let your landlord know that the water has been switched off. If they claim to not know about it or say they can’t do anything, let them know that you will call the City of Cape Town to find out why you do not have water.

• Phone the City of Cape Town at 0860 103 089 to find out if they have switched off the water or if they know of any faults with the water meter. If the City has nothing on its system, they will often send someone out to have a look within 24-48 hours. If they find no faults, it is likely your water has been cut off by the landlord.

• Demand that the Landlord restore your access to water immediately. If they refuse, let the landlord know that you are going to get the water reconnected.
• Call a plumber to reconnect your water. Keep all receipts and inform the landlord that they must reimburse you for the costs of restoring the water.

• Go to The Rental Housing Tribunal and fill in a complaint form for unfair practice by your landlord.
• TIP: Write down a history of your landlord’s unfair practices and include as much detail as possible (e.g. names of the people involved; dates when you had discussions with people; where you had those discussions and what was said)
• You will need to complete two forms: the main complaint form and the annexure (e) form.
• TIP: It is best to go to the Helpdesk at the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements on 27 Wale Street and ask for the Rental Housing Tribunal complaint forms.
• To fill in a form you need:
  • Your ID/passport/permit
  • Your landlord’s full name, contact details and address
  • If an agent is managing the property, the company details and contact numbers must be completed
  • Your address and copies of your written lease if there is one
  • It is also a good idea to include proof of payment of rent or any other documents that support your complaint
• TIP: Don’t forget to sign your application form! Please look at the checklist and tick or circle the relevant complaint/s Complete the relevant annexure
• Your complaint form, annexures and supporting documents are handed in via email, post or hand delivered to the Help Desk at the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements.
• TIP: Attach certified copies of your documents to the complaint form and keep your originals. Also keep a copy of the complete complaint form including attached documents that you submit, write down the date that you submitted the form, and the name of the staff person you submitted the form to. Ask for written confirmation that you have submitted the complaint, even if it is just the Rental Housing Tribunal’s date stamp on your copy of the submitted complaint form.
• After Tribunal staff receive your complaint they open a file and give it a case reference number. This is a number that will be used to track your complaint.
• About two weeks later, you and your landlord should receive a letter from the Tribunal. This letter should say that your complaint has been received, and it should include your case reference number.
• Tip: You might get a phone call from a Tribunal staff member. If they call, ask them for their name and for your case reference number. Ask if they have sent the letter & ask for the contact details of the case officer assigned to your matter. If you do not hear anything after two weeks, call the Rental Housing Tribunal to follow-up. Keep following up regularly.
• Tribunal staff check whether your complaint involves a dispute about something that may be an unfair practice. This check is called a preliminary investigation. If they think they need more details, they can ask for more information from you or your landlord to help them understand the complaint. Tribunal staff can also get an inspector to inspect the property.
• After the investigation, the Tribunal staff decide whether or not the complaint is about a dispute that may be an unfair practice. After you submit the complaint, they then have 30 days to decide.

If they do not think your complaint involves an unfair practice, they must send a letter to let you know. If possible, the Tribunal should also let you know where else you can take your issue. Tribunal staff will then close your file.

If the Tribunal staff think that an unfair practice may be involved, they will continue to try and solve the dispute, and must let you know about what is decided.

• TIP: If there is any chance that the dispute could be about an unfair practice, the Tribunal staff must continue to deal with the complaint. If the staff are not trained well or if there are not enough people doing the work, this could mean that some cases are incorrectly closed. If you feel that your complaint has not been dealt with properly, report this. Send an email to nathan.adriaanse@westerncape.gov.za or ask to speak to him at 27 Wale Street. Nathan Adriaanse is the director of Communication and Stakeholder Relations in the Department of Human Settlements.
• Your case is given a case officer. This case officer is someone who is supposed to contact you and the landlord. They might first try to come to a solution by calling you and your landlord to discuss the issue.
  
  
• The case officer then decides whether the dispute can be solved through mediation, or a hearing. Mediation is a meeting where both sides try to come to an agreement after discussing the problem, with the help of a neutral person from the Tribunal. A hearing is where both parties share the facts of their dispute to members of the Tribunal board who will make a ruling.
• TIP: Check your phone and email regularly. The case officer will try to contact you about whether you should attend mediation or a hearing
• If the case officer thinks that the dispute can be solved by mediation, they will contact you to set up an appointment. A member of the Tribunal staff facilitates the mediation as the mediator. The mediator does not come up with the solutions, but helps the two parties come to their own solution. You can have a lawyer or someone else help you in mediation, but it is not necessary. In the mediation, the mediator listens to both parties and asks questions to help them come to an agreement. If you come to an agreement, you sign the agreement and both parties do what was agreed to. If you do not come to an agreement, the next step is to have a hearing.
• TIP: If you need a translator or have a disability, let your case officer know before the mediation or hearing.
• You will be given a hearing date by your case officer. The hearing will be held at the Tribunal offices at 27 Wale Street. In the hearing, each party is asked to share the facts of their case. At least three Tribunal members will be present at the hearing. They ask the parties questions, and may ask for certain documents to be shown. It is not as formal as a court, and you do not need to have lawyers or legal representation. After hearing both sides, the Tribunal members make a ruling. This is a decision about whether there was an unfair practice. The ruling is communicated to the parties a few days after the hearing. The ruling has the same power as a ruling by a Magistrate’s Court. If you or the landlord wants to challenge the decision, you have to go to the High Court as soon as possible.
• TIP: Make sure you have copies of all the documents that you need for your case when you attend the hearing. This includes receipts, proof of WhatsApp messages or SMSs, copies of lease agreements etc.

Contacts for The Rental Housing tribunal

Website

Email: rht.enquiries@westerncape.gov.za

Telephone: 0860 106 166

Fax: 021 4833313

Street address: Department of Housing, 27 Wale Street, Ground Floor, Cape Town

Postal address: The Western Cape Rental Housing Tribunal, Private Bag X9083, Cape Town, 8000

Five things you need to know about a spoliation order

• A spoliation is a remedy used when one’s “peaceful and undisturbed possession” has been disrupted illegally. “Peaceful and undisturbed possession” means that you have been living in your home without anyone trying to kick you out.
• A spoliation application is URGENT in nature and will usually require legal assistance (a lawyer). URGENT means you must go to court as soon as you can - if you can, go immediately!
• Its object is to return possession to the person who was deprived (evicted), and is based on the principle that no person should take the law into their own hands.
• A spoliation order is final. This means neither the tenant nor the landlord can challenge the judges decision.
• A spoliation is an application procedure which means that evidence is filed by an affidavit and presented to the Magistrate in Court. You do not need to stand up in court and testify.

Contacts for legal assistance

Ndifuna Ukwazi Law Centre

Telephone: (021) 012 5094

Physical address: 18 Roeland Street, Cape Town, 8001

Lawyers for Human Rights

Telephone: (021) 424 8561

Physical address: 4th Floor, Vunani Chambers, 33 Church Street, City Centre, Cape Town, 8001.

Legal Resources Centre

Telephone: (021) 481 3000

Physical address: 54 Shortmarket Street, Greenmarket Place, Cape Town, 8001

Cape Town Justice Centre

Telephone: (021) 426 4126

Fax: (021) 949 2534

Physical address: 3rd Floor South African Reserve Bank Building, 60 St Georges Mall, Cape Town, 8001

Bellville Justice Centre

Telephone: (021) 949 3062

Fax: (021) 949 2534

Physical address: 68 Durban Road, Van Der Stel Bldg, Cnr Voortrekker & Durban Street, Bellville, 7535

Bellville Justice Centre

Telephone: (021) 949 3062

Fax: (021) 949 2534

Physical address: 68 Durban Road, Van Der Stel Bldg, Cnr Voortrekker & Durban Street, Bellville, 7535

Mitchells Plain satellite office

Telephone: (021) 370 4257

Physical address: Mitchells Plain Court, Mitchell’s Plain, 7785

Athlone Justice Centre

Telephone: (021) 6975252

Fax: (021) 6975316

Physical address: 2nd Floor, Melofin Centre, Athlone, 7764

Stellenbosch Justice Centre

Telephone: (021) 882 9221

Fax: (021) 882 9237

Physical address: Office 201, 2nd Floor, Eikestad Mall, Bird Street, Stellenbosch, 7600

Western & Northern Cape Regional Office

Telephone: (021)8613000

Fax: (021)8868657

Physical address: Shiraz House, Brandwacht Office Park, Trumali Street, Stellenbosch, 7600

Other legal assistance

You can also call the following numbers to get free legal advice from Legal Aid SA:

Toll-Free Legal Aid Advice Line: 0800 110 110

Send a Please Call Me and a qualified Legal Advisor will call you back: 079 835 7179

Cape Law Society

All attorneys in South Africa have to provide 24 hours per year of free legal assistance to indigent members of the public. The Cape Law Society allocates attorneys’ pro bono work in the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape.

Telephone: (021) 443 6700

Fax: (021) 443 6751/2

Email address: cls@capelawsoc.law.za

Physical address: 29th & 30th Floors, Absa Centre, 2 Riebeeck Street, Cape Town, 8001