INGOING AND OUTGOING INSPECTIONS

What are ingoing and outgoing inspections? Do they have to be done when letting a property? Who must do them? When? What must be inspected? What happens if they are not done? To answer these questions...

What is the Ingoing Inspection?
When letting out a property to rent, both the owner of the property and the tenant are required to perform an Ingoing Inspection of the property, as per the Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999. The inspection must be performed by the person who owns the house (or his/her appointed Agent) and the tenant whose name appears on the Lease Agreement. The inspection must be arranged at a mutually convenient time agreed upon by both parties.

The Ingoing Inspection must be done before the tenant moves in. It is advisable to do this inspection on an empty property – once the previous occupant has moved all of his/her belongings out. This is to ensure that no new damage occurs after the inspection is performed, during the exit of the previous occupant. It is also easier to check and record all damage/defects in an empty space, than trying to manoeuvre around furniture and boxes.

What Should Be Checked?
All existing damage must be carefully and meticulously recorded. Take a walk through the entire property with pen and paper, and mark down absolutely everything – be specific about what damages exist and where they are (e.g. 3 cracked tiles top left wall in first floor bathroom).

Ensure that the following are checked:
Door handles, locks and keys, glass, window fasteners, electrical fittings, baths, basins, sanitary ware, water taps, burglar alarms, automated gates / garage doors, sprinkler systems, light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, top washers and water ballasts, sewerage pipes, water/downpipes, guttering and drains, electrical system, carpets and other floor coverings and tiles. Also check the condition of the garden/grounds - hedges trimmed, the lawn, flowerbeds neat and free from weeds, swimming pool, motor, filtration plant and automatic pool cleaner. All of these items fall under the responsibility of the tenant to maintain once he/she takes occupation.

The roof, gutters, drain pipes, geyser, stove, DV Board, structural defects and general maintenance of windows and doors fall under the responsibility of the home owner to maintain and must also be checked.

There may be damage that is recorded which the tenant requests the home owner to attend to. This must be agreed upon and put in writing, along with a date which it will be attended to by. These items must still remain on the inspection list, with reference to the agreement that they will be attended to by the owner. A word of advice to both parties – be reasonable and open with each other about this. Remember that this is a long-term relationship that both parties are entering into and all relationships require a bit of “give and take”. Home owner – don’t agree to repair something in writing before you know the cost! You may find later that you don’t have the funds to fix the defect, putting you in a situation where you are in default and the tenant has the right to take action. Tenant – is it a deal-breaker, or can you live with it? Be willing to compromise and assist the home owner to meet your needs where you can.

Everything that is recorded during this inspection forms a “snaglist” which is then signed off by both parties, annexed to the Lease Agreement, and a copy given to the tenant. This becomes the official record of the state of repair in which the property was in before the tenant took occupation. Any and all damages which the owner agrees to rectify from the snaglist must be included in writing separately, also signed by both parties.

The tenant has a further 7 days after taking occupation in which to report any defect or damage which was missed during the initial inspection. Ideally you want to ensure that nothing is overlooked so that there is no need for a call-back and an addition to the snaglist which both parties must then sign again, annex to the Lease Agreement, etc - the more thorough you are during the initial inspection the more time you will save yourself later!

What is the Outgoing Inspection?
When the Lease Agreement expires and the tenant is moving out, an Outgoing Inspection must be performed by the two parties (home owner or Agent, and the tenant whose name appears on the Lease Agreement). The Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999 states that this inspection must be performed within 3 days to the expiry of the Lease Agreement – check your Lease Agreement to see whether any specific date is given. Artemis Letting Specialists’ Lease Agreement stipulates that the inspection must be performed on the last day of the agreement, once the tenant has moved his/her belongings out of the property. Using the snaglist as reference, any new damage caused by the tenant can be easily determined. Remember that damage the tenant is liable for excludes fair wear and tear.

If there is no new damage, the owner must refund the tenant his full deposit plus interest within 7 days. If new damage is determined, the owner may apply the deposit to restoring the property back to the condition it was in at the time of the tenant taking occupation. In this case, the owner has 14 days to complete repairs and pay the balance of the deposit and interest over to the tenant. The tenant can of course request to see receipts of the cost of repairs.

As per the Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999, failure by the home owner to conduct an Outgoing Inspection with the tenant is “deemed to be an acknowledgement by the landlord that the dwelling is in good and proper state of repairs, and the landlord will have no further claim against the tenant who must then be refunded in terms of this subsection the full deposit plus interest by the landlord”.

If the tenant does not arrive at the agreed time and date of the Outgoing Inspection, then the home owner is given 7 days to inspect the property him/herself. If any damage is determined, he/she must restore the property of any damages, and refund the balance of the deposit plus interest to the tenant within 21 days of the Lease Agreement expiring.