My tenant of 3 years moved out two weeks ago and has been hounding me to repay her deposit. The problem is, I went to check on the property a few days after she moved out and found it in a state! Between my gardening costs, cleaning costs and handyman expenses I’ve had to outlay more than the amount of the deposit to get the property ready for a new tenant. How do I tell her she’s not getting her deposit back?
No creditor likes having to deal with a defaulting debtor. Matters become even more interesting when said debtor goes into business rescue. In such instances the creditor’s avenues of recourse become rather limited by the Companies Act – because a creditor is unable to sue its debtor while their debtor is in business rescue. What’s a hapless creditor to do? Particularly in the uncertain economy in which we currently live, where suppliers are increasingly at risk. One solution is to make use of suretyships. Before releasing goods or rendering services, request your debtor to provide some solid guarantors, eg. ask the shareholders, directors, trustees, members, holding company etc to sign a suretyship guaranteeing the debtor’s obligations.
I am a minority shareholder in a company. A few years ago the company took out a loan and all the shareholders were practically forced to sign personal suretyships with the bank. I wasn’t happy with this because my share of the company is so small. Lately the company has gone through a dip in sales, and landed up missing a couple of payments to the bank. I’ve just received a summons from the bank to pay them the money. But they’re claiming the full amount. Surely I should only be liable for 5% of the loan, because I only own 5% of the company?
Here’s a scenario that many a landlord knows only too well. Your faithful tenant of several years has finally decided to move on to greener pastures. You’re a tad dismayed at the news. Finding a tenant who pays their rental on time, in full, every month is no easy feat. But you comfort yourself in the knowledge that you can finally increase the rental to what you feel is a more market-related level. The end of the month falls rather inconveniently during the week, and you’re running ragged at work. So you arrange for the tenant to drop off the keys at your office once they’ve cleared out. And you make a note in your mental diary to go see the property over the weekend.
