They don't return deposit

My experience with Just Property Pretoria North has been extremely disappointing. To say I am disappointed would be an understatement.

I rented a property through Just Property Pretoria North, and upon vacating the apartment, my deposit was retained on the basis that the apartment allegedly required painting at my cost. I was effectively told that I would be responsible for the painting costs.

What is particularly concerning is that the walls were already not in perfect condition when I moved in. The ingoing inspection report recorded chips and imperfections on the walls. However, when I vacated the property, the walls were suddenly described as being "extremely dirty" and in need of painting.

I left the walls in substantially the same condition in which I received them. I also find it concerning that these alleged issues were not properly noted during the initial inspection conducted by the agent.

I have repeatedly requested a proper breakdown of the amounts being deducted from my deposit, including the alleged R3,000 painting/labour cost, but I have not received a satisfactory explanation.

Unfortunately, this has left me with the impression that there is an attempt to find reasons to retain a tenant's deposit rather than fairly assess the condition of the property against the ingoing inspection report.

I expected transparency and professionalism from a property management company. Instead, my experience has been extremely frustrating, and I would caution prospective tenants to carefully document the condition of the property when moving in and out and to keep copies of all inspection reports and correspondence.