Dishonest Landlord in President Park, Midrand

A year ago I entered into an agreement with a Landlord who professed to be a Christian (Mama Faith - President Park, Midrand district) only to learn a year later that she is dishonest and has a sneaky habit of not paying back deposits. I confirmed this with numerous previous tenants.

Her property’s (known as God is Good Ministries or GiG for short) upkeep is not up to standard and she never once employed professional people to attend to renovations/reparations. The unit I rented had water seeping through the floor tiles when it rained and so I suffered personal damages due to flooding as a result.

Apart from the regular flooding I had to endure, the place was infested with mice and wall termites which was not declared when I entered into agreement with her.

Although rodents are expected on a plot, Mama Faith is holding me responsible for damages caused as a result of the long existing mice infestation and insists on installing brand new kitchen cupboards as a result. Furthermore, she is planning on installing a geyser on my account for a water heater that stopped working which she was able to fix herself before ... all of the quotes she obtained for the bogus work amounted to my exact deposit amount she is holding (with interest).

I find myself in a situation (like many before me) where I have to write off my deposit money because I did not properly record the state of the unit when I moved out (had to do so hurriedly before lockdown).

I mistakenly acted in faith to trust a Christian woman to do the correct and fair thing but alas!