Letting agent frustrates landlord and tenant over refusal to return deposit

RealNet, which previously had a franchising contract with an Ekurhuleni estate agent that sent a family on a rental deposit goose chase for over a year, has absolved itself from its partner’s actions.

At the centre of the dispute is a R8,000 rental deposit estate agent Suzette Venter of Springs has refused to release to former tenant Lungile Pheko, who rented a residential property from Bongiwe Nkosi from August 2019 to 2020.

Nkosi used Venter’s services to facilitate the leasing process. Venter was RealNet’s franchisee at the time until she left the company on April 29.

Pheko has been asking for her deposit since January 2020 when her lease expired but she had to extend her stay on the property as Venter was giving her the runaround.

Venter had claimed she could not pay the money until the property inspection was done and utility bills settled.

However, this was disputed by Nkosi in a scathing email to Venter on April 28 where the landlord raises her dissatisfaction in the manner the estate agent has been handling her property affairs. She further instructed Venter to release Pheko’s deposit as her property was in good condition and utility bills had been paid up.

“I have been requesting you to pay back the deposit of R8,000 to the Pheko family ... I did my final inspection and sent back the report, including rates and taxes statements. The rates and taxes statements were sent again after a month as a proof that everything was settled before the Pheko family moved out. I am surprised that the family has not received their deposit to date,” read Nkosi’s email in part.

Sowetan Consumer approached RealNet and learnt that Venter has since started her own company Dumela Properties in Ekurhuleni.

Venter refused to comment.

RealNet marketing coordinator Aneldi Olwagen said franchisees work independently of the mother company - RealNet Holdings. “This effectively means that RealNet Holdings [the franchisor] does not have access to any day-to-day operations, company records, internal bookkeeping or financial statements.

“The agency principal, in this case, Suzette Venter, was the franchisee and registered principal of RealNet Springs, and operated the franchise as an independent company and estate agency under the RealNet brand,” said Olwagen.

She said their contractual agreement with Venter ended in April on the grounds that RealNet Springs would be closing permanently. “RealNet Holdings...advised the parties [Pheko] to submit a formal complaint with the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA) against Venter and/or RealNet Springs,” said Olwagen.

She said her company cannot take responsibility for Venter’s actions. “Our first contact with Nkosi and Pheko was on July 15 2022, well after our contractual agreement with RealNet Springs and Venter had ended. We are unable to pursue this matter on Nkosi and Pheko’s behalf in our capacity as the franchisor due to the formal consumer complaints procedure facilitated by the PPRA in such cases.

“The email communication sent by Nkosi to Venter on April 28 2022 was submitted directly to Venter and not to our office. We could not have advised Nkosi in this matter as it was not received by us at this time... We pride ourselves on outstanding client service and condemn the unprofessional conduct by our former franchisee,” said Olwagen.

Pheko has since lodged a formal complaint with the PPRA.

The PPRA was launched in February to replace the Estate Agency Affairs Board. One of its major objectives, among others, is to regulate the affairs of all property practitioners, to allow for transformation in the property sector and, most importantly, to provide for consumer protection.

Carol Sebeela from PPRA confirmed that the matter is being investigated. “The officer will investigate the matter fully as both parties will be given the right of reply, it’s a process the matter can be mediated or taken for disciplinary hearing,” said Sebeela.”