Two Months Later / Still No Deposit Refund from Zelri Property

Review of Zelri Property

It has now been two months since we started enquiring about the return of our deposit, and the experience with Zelri Property has been extremely disappointing. We have received unprofessional and disrespectful communication, particularly from an individual named Marle van Biljon. I have email correspondence to support everything mentioned below.

Our issues began when we requested the return of our deposit, which according to the lease agreement should have been refunded within 27 days. We understood that an inspection of the property was required, and we cooperated fully. Four tenants, including myself, can confirm that we cleaned and left the apartment in excellent condition.

Following the inspection, I was in contact with the estate manager, Bra Thapelo, who confirmed that the inspection report showed very few issues and that the unit was clean and in good condition. However, days later we were informed of several unexpected charges: R1,365 for paint, R350 for labour, and R320 for a broken window.

The charge for the window is particularly unfair. The window was damaged by a storm during our stay, and I personally reported it to the maintenance team at the time. I even spoke to one of the maintenance staff again after moving out, and he confirmed that he remembered our conversation about the storm damage and agreed to put that in writing. Despite this, Zelri Property continues to hold us responsible for the damage and has ignored our follow ups.

When we asked for a breakdown of the deductions and the remaining amount of our deposit, our requests were ignored. Furthermore, when we raised the matter of the deposit being held in an interest-bearing account as required by law Zelri Property stopped responding altogether.

In summary, our experience with Zelri Property has been extremely unprofessional, marked by poor communication, lack of transparency, and disrespectful treatment of tenants. We are still waiting for a proper explanation and refund of our deposit with the applicable interest. And lastly the lady Lizelle have been ignoring us and we were being told that she’s in meetings and if not that she’s on leave two months now