How Long Can a Tenant Stay Without Paying Rent?
- Property Protect
- Mar 26
- 4 min read
How long can a tenant stay without paying rent?
How long can a tenant stay without paying rent? The short answer: only as long as you let them. There’s a common misconception that tenants can simply stop paying rent, and that you have to allow them to stay for a certain time. That's partly true, and partly false. Let's sort out how much time the tenant has.
Non-payment Is an immediate and material breach of the lease agreement.
The moment a tenant fails to pay rent on the due date, they are in breach of the lease agreement. That breach gives you the right to start the eviction process. In terms of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction and Unlawful Occupation of Land (PIE) Act, and Rental Housing laws, you are required to give the tenant a Notice of Termination of the Lease. That letter has to give them 20 days to vacate the property before you can start an eviction application. So in other words, you cannot just kick the tenant out the moment they are a day late on rent.
If your lease was badly drafted (we have seen this happen before), you may additionally be required to give the tenant a Notice of Breach letter first, before you can move on to the Termination Letter. That gives them an additional 7 days. Make sure your lease agreement doesn't contain this fatal flaw, and contact us for advice if you're not sure.
Time to start the eviction application
Only if the tenant fails to vacate the property by the end of the Termination Period can you then proceed to the eviction application. Each of these steps take time, but must be done according to the law, otherwise you may face criminal liability. But here’s the critical point: there are certain minimum time periods prescribed by the law, but it's up to you to minimise your own delays.
So how do I minimise my own delays?
The best thing to do is to remind yourself that your investment property is simply that - an investment. You took a lot of financial risk and sacrificed to be able to afford the investment property. It needs to create a return on investment for you, and if a tenant is not paying rent, your property is not only not producing returns - it is costing you money. Failing to evict your bad tenant as soon as possible means you could lose over R160,000 in lost rent and legal fees, in just a few months.
That's why you need to be completely ruthless with your bad tenant. If you do nothing, the tenant can remain in the property indefinitely — not because they have the right, but because you have to get a court order to evict a tenant. That what Property Protect's eviction attorneys are for - let us be the ruthless lawyers so you don't have to deal with that stress.
Every day delayed increases your financial loss
The difference between a tenant staying for an extra few weeks, vs a few extra months, can mean losing R10,000 vs losing over R100,000. If you’re dealing with a non-paying tenant, the focus shouldn’t be on how long they can stay — but on how quickly you can lawfully remove them.
How can I reduce my legal costs?
You're facing a tenant who won't pay their rent, and now you know you need to get lawyers involved. What are you going to pay in legal fees? Traditional law firms operating on an hourly billing model will cost you over R50,000. Here's a breakdown of those fees:
Sheriff's fees alone (for service of the various documents) cost between R10,000 - R13,000. Interestingly, this is how you know that any person who tells you an eviction will only cost R10,000 doesn't actually specialise in evictions - they don't know all the disbursement costs required.
The eviction process requires at least two court appearances - one for a "s4(2)" hearing, and one for a "s4(1)" hearing. Traditional firms charge a day fee or by the hour for these, meaning you could pay over R20,000 just for these hearings.
All in all, under the traditional law firm hourly model, you'll pay at least R50,000 for an eviction.
The Property Protect model changes the game completely. Property Protect is based on an insurance subscription model instead of the usual law firm billable hours model. This is an innovation that puts us ahead of many old-fashioned firms, and addresses clients' fears of unexpected high legal bills. Subscribing to Property Protect gives you ongoing protection against all tenants, and we help you get the service for free by increasing the rental amount upon renewal of the lease. This effectively gives you lifelong cover for your property at no cost.
This means that with Property Protect, you pay just R299 per month for evictions, AND rent collections are included.
How does Property Protect compare to our competitors?
Read more in our latest blog article here.
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The above information is for illustrative purposes only and does not take into account your specific circumstances. It therefore does not constitute legal or financial advice. Please contact us for comprehensive advice to address your circumstances. Under no circumstances should any person use the above information in an attempt to circumvent the provisions of legislation or contract, or to cause damage to any other person. Always ensure you and your company are in compliance with the law in all dealings. This information is accurate as of the date of publication. Property Protect is not insurance and does not pay out any claim amount. It is a Value-Added Service (VAS) provided at a discount, directly from our law firm. Prices valid for 2026 and subject to change. Prices exclude VAT unless otherwise stated. © 2026 Maybery Attorneys Inc. All rights reserved.
