Grace Realty Midrand

Undisclosed charges and poor communication after lease signing

For the record, this is the second time I have had to post this review because Grace Reality waited until I moved out to have the initial review removed for defamatory wording. I viewed a property listed by Grace Realty and was assisted by one of their agents during the process. During the viewing and discussions before signing the lease, I specifically asked if there were any additional charges beyond rent, deposit, and utilities (electricity/water). I was told that rent was the only payment required aside from those. I proceeded with a 12-month lease, paying 6 months upfront plus a deposit as agreed and moved in on 1st March 2025, and already it was downhill from there. Despite constant communication regarding preparations for moving in, issues arose with the unit's condition (e.g., unclean carpets, items left by the previous tenant who was still there packing her stuff as I waited for the unit to be cleared, and unpainted walls), which required me to handle cleaning and removals myself over the weekend and the following days. Certainly, the most uncomfortable first 7 days of moving into new place i have ever experienced. A few months later, on 26th May 2025, I received an invoice for approximately R1,400 for rates and estate services, which had not been mentioned previously. I emailed to query it but received no response initially, so I set it aside. Two months after that, another invoice arrived for the same charges, now close to R3,000. I followed up again, asking for clarification and referencing my earlier question during the viewing about additional fees. The response confirmed the charges app**** per a lease clause, but did not address why this was not disclosed when I asked directly beforehand. Further follow-up emails on the same point went unanswered. This lack of timely responses and incomplete information about ongoing fees, unexpected costs, and significant inconvenience. I had to chase multiple times, and ultimately I reached out to the Landlord who informed me that there's nothing besides water and gate charges that I should be paying for, at which point I shared the invoices which I had been receiving and left him to make up his own mind about the people he was dealing with. Overall, the handling of my queries and transparency around fees fell short of expectations, leading me not to recommend their services for future rentals. I never paid the charges that I was being invoiced for, besides water and gate charges. At some point, even without paying a cent above what I was supposed to pay. They still had the nerve to charge me over a thousand Rand to clean the bedroom carpet when I moved out, when it had cost me 550 to have the entire unit cleaned. I have had my fair share of experiences with horrible rental agents, but these guys take the take for me.