North West commended for dealing with rental housing issues

17 Feb 2011

Despite having a challenge of speeding up the establishment of local
rental housing information offices in the province, the national
Department of Human Settlements commended the North West Department of
Human Settlements, Public Safety and Liaison for being one of the first
provinces to establish the Rental Housing Tribunal.

This came during the recent Consultative Workshop on Rental Housing
Amendment Bill held at the Sun City.

The consultative workshop was aimed at discussing the Rental Housing
Amendment Bill which was tabled before the National Parliament around
June last year and later opened for public comments.

The workshop further assessed local municipalities' state of readiness
on implementing the Bill once finalised.

According to the Bill, every local municipality must establish a rental
housing information office to advise tenants and landlords with regard
to their rights and obligations in relation to dwelling within its area
of jurisdiction.

The Rental Housing Tribunal protects both the landlord and tenant
against unfair practices and exploitation. It protects people against
being evicted from their rented home, or has their home confiscated
without a court order.

This regulatory body seeks to maintain sound relationships between the
landlord and tenant by providing accessible mechanisms to both parties
to resolve their disputes easily.

The North West Rental Housing Tribunal (NWRHT) has committed to
strengthen its working relationship with all local municipalities in the
province so as to speed-up the process of establishing Local Rental
Housing Information offices.

Enquiries:
Cornelius Tanana Monama
Tel: 018 391 0420/21
Cell: 082 578 4063

Issued by: North West Human Settlements, Safety and Liaison
17 Feb 2011