It is uncertain how long it will take Council to process all objections – it may take up to 2 years. In the meantime, you will have to pay your rates based on the new amount. If your objection is successful, you will be able to apply for a refund.

Randburg Civic Centre
Cnr Braam Fischer Drive & Jan Smuts Road, RANDBURG Sandton Library
Nelson Mandela Square (off West Street)
SANDOWN

Midrand
300 – 15th Road
RANDJIESPARK

1 Koma Road
JABULANI
Soweto

Roodepoort Civic Centre
100 Christiaan de Wet Road
FLORIDA PARK

Thuso House
61 Jorissen Street
Corner Simmonds Street
BRAAMFONTEIN

South Hills Customer Service Centre
9 Geneva Road
SOUTH HILLS

PayProp DepositGuarantee is comprehensive insurance for landlords at a cost that tenants can afford. Instead of an upfront deposit, tenants pay the landlord's premiums under the PayProp DepositGuarantee, a much more affordable proposition. Tenants who owe nothing when the lease expires receive a no-claim cash bonus, as well as, a good tenant certificate.

DepositGuarantee covers all of a landlord's claims against a tenant at the end of the lease – for up to 2.5 times the monthly rent. The exception is that only one month's rent can be claimed, but damages of up to 1.5 times the monthly rent can be claimed. Underwritten by RMB Structured Insurance Limited, the security is as safe as houses.

Rita Jacobsen from PayProp Capital explains: "The policy was recently launched and no claims have been submitted. However, we envisage that claims will follow the same process as for a damage deposit. Claims should not be complicated - it’s a fairly simple claims decision when the lease expires – does the tenant owe the landlord money or not? If the tenant owes the landlord money, the landlord will be refunded by the insurer instead of out of the damage deposit. The insurer will then attempt to recover the money from the tenant.  The potential for claims is further reduced because the tenant has an incentive to pay all his/her obligations in order to earn a cash bonus. It may not be much comfort, but insurers are nowadays very aware of the power of the consumer/policyholder and the insurance ombudsman. The reputation risk for refusing a legitimate claim is too high."

HERE’S WHY THE DEPOSITGUARANTEE IS SIMPLY THE BEST:
• It provides ample cover for damage, outstanding rent, utility and legal costs – landlords are covered for losses of up to 2.5 times the monthly rent (subject to a maximum of R50 000) – except for claims for unpaid rent, which are limited to 1 month’s rent.
• Instead of a damage deposit, tenants pay the landlord’s premiums, amounting to 35% of the monthly rent upfront and 1.25% of the monthly rental from month 2. Landlords receive protection for the duration of the lease. In addition, tenants pay a once-off administration fee of R175. The numbers include VAT. (The percentages are slightly higher for monthly rentals below R4 000 due to minimum premium amounts.)
• Tenants have more control over their money – money that would otherwise be locked in as damage collateral.
• DepositGuarantee rewards good tenancy – if tenants owe nothing when the lease expires, they will receive a good tenant certificate as well as a no-claim bonus of 40% of all premiums paid (excluding VAT).

Contact us should you require more information, or wish to mandate us to introduce PayProp DepositGuarantee to your tenants.

Every year from March to middle June we have another opportunity to add wonderful winter- and spring-flowering bulbs to our gardens. We all know and love the old favourites – daffodils, anemones, ranunculus, muscari, iris and snowflakes. These are all exotic bulbs, meaning that they originally came from elsewhere in the world.

But the buzz word is indigenous, and we should also promote and plant our world-famous indigenous bulbs. On the list you will find bulbs you already know: the fragrant freesia, the dainty ixia, the funky babiana, the artistic sparaxis and the fabulous tritonia. They can all be bought and planted now.

If you have a forgotten packet of bulbs in the garden shed from last year, do not get your hopes up – bulbs grow and flower best from freshly bought bulbs. Therefore, do not be tempted to buy up old stock from nurseries or hardware stores at the end of the planting season – you will not be able to plant them next year!

The big secret of successful bulb growing is the watering. Bulbs that dry out for any length of time after they have been planted, might still give you plants, but probably no flowers. Some bulbs, like muscari, snowflakes, daffodils, liliums, sparaxis, tritonia, ixia and babiana, will flower for a few seasons when you leave them in the soil, while others will probably not flower again, so you have to replace them next season. You can lift all your bulbs and store them in a dry place for replanting next season, but you have to wait before taking them out of the soil until all foliage has turned brown completely. Never cut bulb foliage off to make a flower bed neat – they need their leaves to make food for next season.