If a tenant occupies a property, the Roman-Dutch law, on which SA’s laws are based, provides that: “Huur gaat voor koop” – the rights of a tenant with an existing lease outweigh those of the new owner.

If you plan to buy a second property as an investment, make sure that the seller, in the offer to purchase, gives you what is called ‘vacant possession’ (i.e. that you don’t take ownership and find that possession is frustrated because the seller entered into an agreement of lease with a tenant).

Know that you cannot just “get rid of” a tenant and that in SA law, tenants’ rights are sacrosanct.