Build a residential lease, free
A room, a backyard flat, a house, a sectional title unit. Most South African rentals run on a handshake or a lease copied from somewhere that never mentions the deposit account, the joint inspection or the Rental Housing Tribunal, which is exactly what the fight is about later. Fill in the deal and this builds a lease that follows the Rental Housing Act and the Consumer Protection Act, here in your browser. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Before anyone signs
- Do the joint inspection firstWalk through together, write down every defect, both sign it, attach it as Annexure A. The Rental Housing Act requires it, and without it the landlord cannot deduct repairs from the deposit.
- Put the deposit in its own interest-bearing accountThe interest is the tenant’s, at no less than a savings account rate, and the tenant may ask for proof of the balance.
- Give receipts for everythingDated, with the property address and what the payment was for. That is a legal duty, not a courtesy.
- Both keep a signed copyWith the annexures. A lease nobody can find is a lease nobody can enforce.
- Diarise the expiry warningWhere the tenant is a person, not a company, the landlord must remind them in writing between 40 and 80 business days before the lease ends.
Frequently asked questions
Does a lease have to be in writing?
A verbal lease is valid, but the Rental Housing Act says a landlord must put it in writing if the tenant asks, and a written lease is the only way either side can prove what was agreed. The Rental Housing Amendment Act of 2014 will make written leases compulsory once it is brought into force, which has not happened yet.
What must the landlord do with the deposit?
Keep it in an interest-bearing account with a registered financial institution, at a rate at least equal to a savings account, and the interest belongs to the tenant. Give a receipt. At the end, refund it with interest within 7 days if nothing is deducted, or within 14 days of the dwelling being restored where repair costs are deducted after a proper joint inspection, and within 21 days if the tenant did not attend the outgoing inspection.
Why does the generator cap the lease at 24 months?
Where the tenant is a natural person, section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act treats the lease as a fixed-term consumer agreement. Those may not run longer than 24 months unless a longer term is clearly to the tenant’s benefit, and the tenant may cancel on 20 business days’ written notice, paying a reasonable cancellation penalty. The landlord must also warn the tenant, between 40 and 80 business days before the end, that the lease is about to expire.
Do we really have to do an inspection together?
Yes. The Rental Housing Act requires a joint inspection before the tenant moves in and another when the lease ends. The list of defects from the first one is attached to the lease. A landlord who skips the inspections loses the right to deduct repairs from the deposit.
What if there is a dispute?
The Rental Housing Tribunal in your province hears landlord and tenant disputes for free, including deposits, unfair practices and lockouts, and its rulings are enforceable like a magistrates’ court order. The lease built here names it as the first step.
Can the landlord just cut the electricity or change the locks?
No. Only a court can evict, under the Prevention of Illegal Eviction Act. Cutting services or locking a tenant out to force them to leave is an unfair practice and a criminal offence under the Rental Housing Act. The proper route for non-payment is notice, then the Tribunal or court.
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Sub-letting, early termination penalty worked out, damage and repairs schedule, furnished inventory, guarantor clause and the expiry notice letter, as an editable document you can reuse for every tenant. R350, yours in minutes.
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This generator produces a template lease from your inputs, entirely in your browser; nothing is stored or sent to us. It reflects the Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999 and section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 as at September 2026. It is a starting point, not legal advice, and unusual arrangements deserve an attorney.