Unsafe, Mismanaged, and Exploitative Rental Practices at Boston Heights by Central Developments

I would strongly caution anyone considering renting at Boston Heights through Central Developments.

My experience as a tenant at Boston Heights, Pretoria East was extremely disappointing, to the point that I terminated my lease early due to the unsafe and unlivable conditions. Some of the serious issues I faced included:

Four separate weekends without electricity, with the last two outages lasting more than 48 hours.

The boom gates fail completely during power outages, leaving the complex vulnerable and controlled only by orange cones at night.

Excessively high water and electricity bills, even during times when no services were available.

My car was damaged by the boom gate despite properly scanning my access. Instead of resolving the fault, I was accused of tailgating. Many other tenants reported similar experiences.

A neighbour in my block was attacked during what appeared to be a *******. No clear communication, follow-up, or tenant support was provided by management after this frightening incident.

Because of these repeated failures to provide a safe and habitable environment, I exercised my right to end the lease early. As required, I gave more than a full calendar month’s notice, in line with the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), Section 14. This law allows tenants to cancel a lease by giving 20 business days’ notice — which I exceeded.

Despite this, management has:

Withheld my deposit without providing any breakdown or invoice of alleged costs.

Charged me the full rental amount at the end of August (I moved out August 31st), even after I had already given two months’ notice.

Threatened me with arbitrary penalty fees amounting to essentially over double the rental for early cancellation.

This conduct is not compliant with the CPA. The law allows only a reasonable cancellation fee, not a blanket demand of two months’ rent regardless of circumstances. Landlords are also legally obliged to mitigate damages by making a reasonable effort to re-let the unit, not to punish tenants with excessive penalties.

Unless this demand is revised and brought into compliance with South African tenancy law, I will escalate the matter to the Rental Housing Tribunal in Gauteng, lodge a complaint with the Consumer Commission, and seek legal advice on pursuing damages.

In my view, Central Developments has acted unfairly and without accountability. Future tenants should be very cautious before signing a lease with them.