“It’s not fair to landlords,” businessman and property owner, Pradeep Singh has little good to say about the proposed amendment to the municipality’s tenant account policy.
He believes the system is now stacked against landlords.
“If the municipality has collection problems, it should rather offer prepaid meters and then there will be no issue with non-payments.”
Although Singh did not yet have all the details, he doubted the municipal workforce could handle the likely cycle of electricity disconnection and reconnection.
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Singh also believed the municipality should possess a history of each tenant’s previous accounts and if their payment record was poor, deposits should be adjusted accordingly.
“Landlords don’t have the capacity to monitor a tenant’s account payment.”
Looking at the broader scope of the amendment, Singh agreed the changes would have a negative effect on property developers and investment due to the added headache tenancy monitoring might bring.
Other property owners feel the same.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, one owner stated the proposed amendment would actually be returning to the original arrangement with the municipality, which he said changed after a court ruling.
“If the tenant didn’t pay, the landlord had to pay and it had to be settled before the next tenant could be connected.”
Another businessman, who owns property with multiple premises to let, stated there was nothing wrong with the current way of leasing.
“It’s lawful occupation and the tenant gets services. There’s a user agreement used whether you are a tenant or owner, which stipulates services will be provided and an account submitted.”
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