Pam Golding Properties, Hyde Park. Non-Managing Agent Jackie Petit

I signed a managed lease with PGP in May 2022. This lease was renewed in May 2023. The tenant was served with a Notice to Vacate after defaulting on his rent for two months and subsequently vacated the property on March 28, 2024. I met with Jackie Petit, the managing agent, on Monday morning, April 1, 2024, to do a joint inspection of my property.

I chose to sign a Managed Lease with Pam Golding Properties, an international company with a well-known name. The rental agent who secured the tenant, Chris Coetzee, was professional in all my dealings with him and assured me that the managed lease entailed the following: The rental paid by the tenant would be managed. Regular (quarterly) inspections of my property would be carried out to ensure it was looked after. Regular liaison with the tenant would be maintained to ensure that any issues were identified and dealt with quickly. Point #1 was managed by a very capable, conscientious, and service-oriented Ananda Hotlzhausen. Point #2. In the almost two years that PGP managed my property, there were 3 site inspections done: one by Chris before he left the company, one by his successor, Ntokoza Ngwenya, before she renewed the lease, and one by Jackie Petit on the day the tenant vacated the premises. Point #3: Ananda Holtzhausen communicated regularly via email with the tenant as he habitually paid his rent around the 15th of the month. Chris Coetzee maintained contact with the tenant and advised when issues, like the broken bedroom door, were communicated. No other contact was maintained or communicated with me.

I chose to sign a managed lease as I live in Cape Town. I needed a reputable company to manage the payment of the rental as well as ensure that my property was being taken care of through regular site inspections. I was charged a monthly rate for this service.

I have raised the following concerns with Cindy de Beer but have not received a reasonable explanation or all the answers to my concerns. 1. When the tenant vacated the property, a serious damp issue was identified in both bathrooms. The severity of these conditions could have been significantly reduced if regular site inspections had been carried out, as per the managed lease and as covered by the management fee paid to the managing agent. 3 doors inside the house had also been damaged and the shower arm had been completely broken off. 2. My first communication with Jackie Petit, the managing agent, was in June 2023. I am unsure when my property was handed to her, although she stated that it had been one month before the tenant vacated. I have asked whether the managing agent is paid a fee to manage the properties assigned to her but have not received a response. If she received a residual income as the managing agent for my property, what did she do to earn it? The damp damage and overall neglect of the interior of my property would have been identified and rectified had she managed the property and carried out the site inspections as expected. What recourse do I have for this neglect of duties and the expense I have now incurred? 3. I met with Jackie Petit at my property for a joint inspection on Monday, April 1. To date, I have not received the final checklist as agreed and advised by Cindy De Beer. This non-service is unacceptable and tarnishes the reputation of PGP.

I have not had an explanation as to why my property was not managed as agreed upon, nor have I apologized for this neglect of duties and the unnecessary cost I am left with. An email, WhatsApp, and voicemail to Nelson Ferriera, the Regional Head for Gauteng, have all been unanswered. This is the service I got from 'Southern Africa’s leading independent real estate group and the country’s most awarded real estate company.'