Introduction - AssetSure are
able to offer South African
holiday home
insurance.
Holiday home purchasers and Investors are flocking to South Africa purchasing
property for a variety of reasons. In the main, the strength of sterling to the
South African Rand, the cost and availability of housing and a safe secure
banking system and a security of title that is hard to beat helps make the
country a desirable location for a holiday home or rental property. The good
news is, there are no restrictions on non residents owning property in South
Africa and the process of purchase is fairly straight forward . A non resident
will of course be subject to the same laws and regulations as South Africans and
legal advise before purchase is necessary to fully understand any rules and
regulations that will apply to you. From an insurance perspective, this part of
the world has been known to suffer from forest fires and the Cape regions in
particular have suffered bouts of flash flooding. Holiday Home Insurance is available for
property in South Africa and a full range of perils can usually be obtained. The
same rules apply in South Africa as in the United Kingdom, you should insure the
building for the full reinstatement cost and if you are not sure how to
calculate this figure, you should seek a professional opinion. If you also want
to include contents insurance, it us normal procedure to insure the contents on
a new for old basis. In order to qualify for this cover, you will have to insure
for the full as new replacement costs. For many people, a property is
purchased just to use as a second or holiday home but on occasions,the property
is let out in order to help pay the mortgage costs. In this circumstances and
indeed for property investors letting property If you let a property in South
Africa, you’re required by law to pay tax on your rental income actually in
South Africa and not in the country where the income is received. Making sure
that your policy covers third party liability is essential as is making sure
that you are actually allowed to let the property. In some areas, particularly
on new development estates with shared facilities, letting is not allowed.
Checking the rules and regulations surrounding your ability and could save you a
good deal of time and money.
The Holiday Letting Market in South Africa - As in most countries, holiday
letting is carried out by means of a simple agreement form that includes a
description of the property, the names of the renters and the period covered by
the rental agreement. It is good practice to have you letting agreement form
checked by a local lawyer to make sure it is up to scratch, he or she should
also be able to inform you of any local regulations or permits that are
required. Because of its geographical location and good climate, South Africa is
attracting holiday makers from all over the world. You may have to deal with
persons whose first language is not English and thus obtaining a translation of
your agreement in to a number of languages may pay dividends. If you don't want
to go to these lengths, several off the self contracts are easily available.
Many people investing in South Africa for the first time, view long term letting
as the preferred option and although their are a number of rent controlled areas
in South Africa, on the whole, you can demand what ever rent you wish and local
market forces tend to set the amount you can achieve, a bit of research will
normally tell you a realistic amount to charge. Estate and letting agents should
be a serious consideration to the overseas investor, they have invaluable local
knowledge and should be able to help to locate a suitable tenant.
In 2000 the South African authorities introduced some regulation in to the
rental property market and the Rental Housing Act imposed some requirements on
landlords. This form of regulation will not seem at all strange to UK landlords
and transparency in rental agreement certainly helps to prevent disputes at a
later date. Long term renters should be aware that their agreement should
include the following;
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Your name and address;
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The tenant’s name and address;
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A full description of the property, including its
address.
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An inventory of the furniture and any supplied
fittings
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A list of any existing defects in the property
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The amount of rent and the dates of any increases
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A list of any other expenses that you expect the
tenant to pay;
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The date the rent needs to be paid.
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The rental deposit
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Any notice periods
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The landlord’s and tenant’s obligations
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Any additional conditions such as respect for
neighbours, the keeping of pets etc
The law in south Africa also places several
obligations on both the landlord and the tenant, this basically are as follows;:
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The landlord must always issue a written receipt
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Any deposit received by the landlord must be kept
in an interest bearing account. The tenant may ask to know the interest at any
time
If the tenant pays a deposit, the landlord must invest it in an interest-bearing
bank account and must give the tenant a written statement of the interest earned
whenever he asks for one.
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A list or property defects must be drawn up and
agreed before the tenant moves in.
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Both parties must inspect the property, prior to
the tenant leaving to agree on on damages caused during the tenants occupation.
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If there is no damage, you as landlord have seven
days to return the deposit with interest.
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If there’s damage, it can be taken out of the
deposit but the balance with the interest must be returned within fourteen days.
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If the tenant owes you money, it can be deducted
from the deposit but the seven day rule still applies.
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Disputes are dealt with on a local basis by the
rental housing tribunal and government offices or an estate or letting agent
will be able to assist.
As you would expect the , the sales process is
fairly straight forward and strong emphasis has to be placed on quality legal
advice to advise all the idiosyncrasies of the south African system , in some
cases you may be entitled to a cooling off period and whilst this will not
effect too many purchasers, it is important that all of the terms and conditions
and contract obligations are explained to you.
So if you are seeking an holiday home insurance quote for a property in cities
like Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, Palermo, Genova or Tuscanny areas why
not see if we can help. In addition, Assetsure provide overseas property
insurance and holiday home insurance for other countries including Australia,
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Brazil, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Croatia,
Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Egypt, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands,
New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South
Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates,
United Kingdom (UK) and Venezuela.
