Platinum heights property is holding my deposit of R8300+ ,one year after I moved out

I moved into this apartment in April 2022 in Edenvale, And it was all full of troubles. If tenants miss to pay rent on 1st of the month they will charge you R500 fine. As a new tenant I didn’t know about this. On May 2nd I paid my rent , my salary could not reflect on time because of the public holiday that merged with a weekend. Despite paying my rent I continued using my electricity and water which are both prepaid.

Around September same year I wanted to buy electricity one morning for my kids to go to school and couldn’t buy. I couldn’t buy water and electricity as the meters were blocked.

I reached out to management and they said because I owe them R500.

I asked them how was that possible since I have been paying my full rent and on time, they said the system traced that I paid late on May and flagged me down.

I begged this people that my kids needs to go to school and I had a new born baby who was just two months old. I begged them to kindly reconnect us and add the R500 to my next invoice and I will sort it out since it was no longer on my budget They refused . This was on a Friday, by the time I got the R500 and sent them they said office is closed and they can only reconnect our water and electricity on Monday so they kept us on the dark for the whole weekend without water and electricity just for R500. Our meat and everything in the fridge were rotten and thrown away.

By Monday they reconnected us, then in February 2023 I was sick and was admitted at the hospital, I wrote them that I will only pay rent a bit late but before 7th due to my health but I promise to add the R500 for late payment to my rent payment , yet they still went ahead to block my meters for electricity and water.

I paid on 7th and I was not happy that despite my plea they still blocked my meters keeping my family on the dark and still I paid the extra R500.

I approached rental tribunal for a resolution between us, the tribunal phoned them, they denied wrongdoing so because the tribunal man told them he is coming home with me to investigate, before I could get home they have reconnected me in a bid to make me look like a ****.

From there I became a target. Meanwhile I had signed two years lease agreements before moving into the apartment.

Fast forward to April 2023 , they sent me an increase to start paying R8080 from R7300pm, I told them that o can’t afford to pay increase for now as things were a bit tight due to health concerns and family issues (my younger brother was shot 7bullets by car highjackers though he survived).

They said ℹ either pay or move out, I told them that few tenants who were there before me and I had chats with told me that they didn’t increase their rents because they said they couldn’t afford increases and their requests were granted why is mine difficult. Meanwhile I was already paying higher than all the tenants as they were charging them R7200 and mine R7300pm. The agent told me that I must then move out immediately because I have no right to interact with other tenants to know what they are paying. That I will ******* them with tribunals spirit and that what they are doing to me was a consequence of me approaching tribunal.

I said okay it’s fine I will move by month end.

By month end was MAY , I couldn’t get a place and and I asked them for an extension and paid for the apartment for MAY.

That was where war broke out:

I stayed on number 11, number 12 was empty and I think number 2 as well.

They told me they have rented my apartment and I must move and they will give me back my rent and deposit and my deposit interest.

I pleaded with them but they refused and came to trying to change my locks. Each time they came they met my wife inside they switched off our meters from the source of electricity and water and locked a tap that was downstairs were we could fetch water with a padlock.

They came by our apartment daily fighting us, each time they came they met someone inside because they planned changing our locks.

Next thing they did was to get a bakkie from their own pawn shop to bring old beds infested with ****roaches and bed bugs 🐜 to our apartment together with couches telling us that someone in Northwest is moving in. From northwest they said Durban.

They said if we don’t move out the boys will live with us inside the apartment.

Our sitting room was filled up with the two beds and a whole lots of couches and furniture they dumped to make our life miserable.

We approached tribunals and they said they will invite them and when they did they never responded to them.

We suffered in the month of MAY , we asked them since number 12 is open and available whoever the person is move into it they said no that the ghost tenant chose our number 11 without even viewing it and he is staying in a hotel waiting for us and we will be charged for their hotel stay fees too. We then proposed that we can move to number 12 they quickly arranged a lady to come to view number 12 same day and then told us that 12 has been paid and rented by that lady too so we must move or they throw our things out.

This went on until around 20th May the landlord Mr Mark came and said we must move out on first, restored our electricity and water and said if we move out on first of June He will pay my deposits and interest within 7days.

On first of 30th of May we moved out and after 7days I asked for my deposit he said he used it in fixing and painting the apartment and installers I need to pay him extra money as my deposit wasn’t enough.

All attempts to get my money has been blocked. Tribunals have tried to invite them but they refused to come. He told me that rental tribunal are powerless and can’t help me. This property is situated at 102 12th Avenue Edenvale Johannesburg South Africa 1609.

I need my deposit please help.