Knowing the excuses is the first step to not being caught off guard by them.
If you've been a landlord for any length of time, you've heard some version of these. The story that just needs one more week. The maintenance issue that apparently justifies withholding rent. The elaborate explanation for why the money is coming — it's just not here yet.
Some of these are genuine hardship. Many are not. And a surprising number of tenants have a working knowledge of exactly how long the legal process takes — which gives them confidence that a story, strategically deployed, buys them another month or two.
Here are eight of the most common excuses, and the honest reality behind each one.
1. "I Can't Pay Because the Landlord Hasn't Fixed the [Maintenance Issue]"
The excuse: The geyser is leaking, the roof has a crack, the intercom doesn't work — and until it's fixed, rent is being withheld.
The reality: A tenant does have rights regarding maintenance, but withholding rent is not an automatic remedy. To use a maintenance failure as grounds for non-payment, the tenant must have formally notified the landlord of the problem in writing, given them a reasonable opportunity to fix it (as specified in the lease), and the issue must be significant enough to genuinely affect habitability.
A request for a garden gate to the park, or a minor cosmetic issue, does not meet this threshold. And if there's no written paper trail showing the landlord was formally notified and given a chance to respond, a court is unlikely to accept the excuse. As one presiding officer put it plainly: "Where's the proof?"
What landlords should do: Insist on written maintenance requests and respond to them in writing. Keep records of all communications. This paper trail protects you when a tenant suddenly discovers 12 maintenance grievances the moment a breach notice arrives.
2. "I'm Waiting for My Salary / A Payment That's Coming"
The excuse: The money is on its way. Just give it a week.
The reality: This is the most universal excuse, and it's sometimes true — once. The problem is that it often becomes a pattern. One week becomes two, two becomes a month, and the landlord finds themselves three months in arrears having given the benefit of the doubt each time.
Statistics from eviction specialists are sobering: if a tenant is two to three months behind, the probability of them catching up and paying in full is extremely low — in the region of 5%. The money, in most cases, is not coming.
What landlords should do: Issue the breach notice at the first missed payment — not the second or third. The letter of demand does not mean the relationship is over. It starts the clock legally, which protects you if the situation escalates. If the tenant does pay, the notice lapses. You lose nothing by acting quickly.
3. "You Can't Evict Me — I've Got Nowhere to Go"
The excuse: Eviction would leave the tenant (and often their children) homeless, and South African courts protect vulnerable occupants.
The reality: Courts do take homelessness seriously, and this can influence the vacate date the court grants — sometimes extending it by one to three months. But it does not prevent an eviction order from being granted where a valid breach exists.
There is one circumstance where this argument carries less weight: if the tenant owns property themselves. A court is likely to take a much dimmer view of a property-owning tenant claiming they have nowhere to go, particularly when the landlord is relying on the rental income to service a bond or meet their own financial obligations.
What landlords should do: A tenant's property ownership is worth checking at the vetting stage — it's a useful data point both for assessing commitment and for anticipating how a potential future dispute might play out.
4. "I Have Rights. You Can't Just Throw Me Out."
The excuse: A vague appeal to tenant rights, often deployed as a conversation-stopper.
The reality: Tenants do have rights in South Africa, and those rights are substantial. But so do landlords. The PIE Act protects tenants from unlawful eviction — meaning a landlord cannot change locks, cut utilities, or remove belongings without a court order. It does not protect a tenant from a lawful eviction following a valid breach process.
The implication behind this excuse is often: "You don't have the time, money, or energy to pursue this." And for many landlords managing the process alone, that's unfortunately true. The calculation changes the moment a professional third party is involved.
What landlords should do: Have professional support in place. When a tenant realises they're no longer dealing with an individual landlord but with a specialist firm with a panel of attorneys, the dynamic shifts. The "rights" card loses much of its power.
5. "I Paid — Check Your Account"
The excuse: The money was sent. There must be an error on your side.
The reality: This one occasionally turns out to be genuine — banking errors happen. But it's also a time-buying tactic. The "proof of payment" that eventually arrives may show a transaction to the wrong account, a different reference, or simply a screenshot that doesn't correspond to any actual deposit.
What landlords should do: Use a dedicated, clearly communicated banking reference for each tenant. Confirm payment only once it reflects in your account — not based on a promise or a screenshot. Keep clear records of all payment history.
6. "I'm Under Debt Review and My Counsellor Said I Don't Have to Pay"
The excuse: The tenant claims debt review protects them from paying rental obligations.
The reality: Debt review provides protection against credit providers pursuing outstanding debt — it does not exempt a tenant from their rental obligations. Rent is not a credit agreement; it is a contractual obligation under a lease. A debt counsellor cannot advise a tenant that they are legally entitled to stop paying rent.
Interestingly, being under debt review is not necessarily a disqualifying factor for a prospective tenant. If a debt counsellor has confirmed the tenant can afford the rental and they have a recent track record of payments, this can be workable. The key is proper documentation and — as always — having the right protection in place.
What landlords should do: If a tenant raises debt review as justification for non-payment, issue the breach notice immediately. This is not a valid defence.
7. "The Property Has Mold / It's a Health Hazard"
The excuse: A health or safety issue is raised — usually after a breach notice has been issued — as grounds for withholding rent or opposing an eviction.
The reality: Legitimate health and safety concerns are serious and a landlord has an obligation to address them. But the timing of this complaint matters. When a tenant who has never mentioned any issues suddenly discovers extensive mold the day after receiving a breach letter, courts are generally alert to the pattern.
As with other maintenance excuses, the tenant must show that they followed the correct process — formal written notification to the landlord, a reasonable opportunity to remedy, and evidence that the issue was serious enough to justify non-payment. A complaint raised for the first time in court, with no prior documentation, will carry very little weight.
What landlords should do: Conduct regular documented inspections throughout the tenancy. If a genuine maintenance issue is raised, respond to it promptly and in writing. This protects you against retrospective complaints and demonstrates that you take your obligations seriously.
8. "I'm Going to Oppose the Eviction"
The excuse / tactic: Not an excuse per se, but a statement of intent designed to signal that the landlord is in for a long and expensive fight.
The reality: A tenant can oppose an eviction, and some do. An opposed matter can extend the process to five or six months. But opposition requires grounds, and tenants who oppose without valid grounds are, in the words of property law practitioners, "taking a chance" — and presiding officers generally recognise this.
The threat of opposition is often more powerful than the actual opposition. Many tenants raise it to discourage the landlord from proceeding and then fail to follow through once they realise the landlord has professional legal support.
What landlords should do: Don't be deterred by the threat. If your breach process has been conducted correctly and you have professional representation, an eviction application on valid grounds will succeed — whether opposed or not. The timeline is longer for an opposed matter, but the outcome, where the facts support the landlord, is the same.
The Common Thread
Looking across all eight excuses, a pattern emerges. They are almost all designed to do one thing: buy time. Time for the tenant to find somewhere else to go. Time to gather funds. Time to wait out a landlord who seems unlikely to follow through.
The landlords who are least vulnerable to these tactics are the ones who act quickly, follow the correct process from the first missed payment, and have professional support in their corner. A specialist breach management team that has heard every version of every excuse, and knows exactly how to respond to each one, changes the equation entirely.
The excuses don't stop working because of any particular legal provision. They stop working when the person receiving them doesn't respond the way the tenant expected.