The case concerns a landlord’s profit-making by levying electrical service charges on tenants over and above the rent and the actual cost of electricity they consumed. The court characterized the Rental Housing Tribunal’s ruling in the initial complaint as administrative action and reviewed it to determine whether it was fair and just in the circumstances.
The Landlord will have to repay all the tenants the amounts they were unlawfully charged from 2009 to 2013. The tenants are all still in undisturbed occupation.
The tenants are currently calculating how much is owed to each unit and will be approaching the landlord for a refund in due course as per the court order.
This decision sets precedent enabling tenants being overcharged by their landlords to seek recourse.
Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI)