‘ I realised my tenants were simply NEVER GOING TO PAY ’
IT was March 2020, and the Covid storm clouds were gathering in South Africa. I’d enjoyed a busy summer season with my upmarket Airbnb apartment on the Atlantic Seaboard, but with an uncertain future looming – in all facets of life – I decided that instead of short-term lets I would try to procure a long-term tenant for winter.
Serendipitously (or so it seemed), Veronica, a tenant I’d had for a month the previous winter, called me and asked to stay for the six months of winter 2020. She and her partner Adam (not their real names) had both been my tenants previously, and they had been model tenants: they’d paid their deposit plus rent on time, and they’d looked after my apartment scrupulously. They drove a good car and were well presented and well spoken. Both said they had degrees; hers in law – which becomes relevant later. They were both self-employed.
Reassured by all the above, I did nothing more than draw up the lease at R10000 per month, request three months’ bank statements from them and secure their deposit.
