Knowing the tricks is the first step to not falling for them.

Most tenants are good tenants. They pay on time, they look after the property, and the relationship with their landlord is unremarkable in the best possible way.

But every landlord, if they own rental property long enough, will eventually encounter the other kind. The tenant who knows exactly how the legal system works, exactly how long an eviction takes, and exactly what to say to buy themselves another month — or another six.

In South Africa, where tenant protections are strong and the courts are slow, this is a real and well-documented phenomenon. Understanding the tactics some tenants use isn't about becoming cynical. It's about being prepared.

"I Know How to Play the System"

It sounds like something out of a film, but it happens. Landlords and agents occasionally encounter tenants who are entirely upfront about their intentions — not in writing, of course, but in conversation. The message is clear: I know the process. I know how long this takes. And I know you don't have the resources to pursue it.

This kind of tenant isn't a one-off bad actor. They're what industry professionals call a serial tenant — someone who moves from property to property, staying as long as possible without paying, before moving on to the next.

By the time a landlord realises what they're dealing with, the tenant may already be several months into a nine-month process they've navigated before.

The Tricks Worth Knowing About

1. The "Day 18 or 19" Payment

Once a landlord issues a 20 business day letter of demand, the tenant has until the end of that period to remedy the breach. Some tenants know this precisely. They'll ignore the letter entirely, let the deadline approach, and then pay the outstanding amount on day 18 or 19 — just enough to technically cure the breach and reset the clock.

The landlord is relieved but frustrated. The same thing happens next month. And the month after.

Legally, once the breach is remedied, the eviction process cannot proceed. The landlord's only real recourse in this situation is to decline to renew the lease when it expires and issue the appropriate notice to vacate at that point.

2. The Maintenance Complaint Tactic

A tenant facing eviction for non-payment will sometimes pivot to claiming the landlord has failed to maintain the property — and that this failure justifies withholding rent. Mold, leaks, broken fixtures, a gate that was never installed: suddenly everything becomes a grievance.

This tactic has a legal weakness: for a maintenance complaint to hold weight in court, the tenant must have formally notified the landlord of the issue in writing and given them the opportunity to remedy it — as stipulated in the lease agreement. Without that paper trail, the presiding officer is unlikely to give it much weight.

But it does add complexity to the case, and complexity adds time.

3. Opposing the Eviction

A tenant who wants to stay as long as possible can oppose the eviction application, turning an unopposed matter (roughly 12 to 14 weeks) into an opposed one (five to six months or more).

They don't need strong grounds. They need a willing attorney — or a creative family member — and enough procedural arguments to keep the matter alive. Courts are required to hear both sides, and that takes time.

Some tenants use this window to find alternative accommodation at their leisure. Others are simply trying to remain in the property for as long as possible at no cost.

4. The "I Have Nowhere to Go" Defence

South African courts take homelessness seriously. A tenant who can demonstrate that they have no alternative accommodation, particularly one with dependents, is likely to receive a more generous vacate date from the court — sometimes two to three months after the eviction order is granted.

This is not inherently dishonest — circumstances vary — but it is a factor that extends the process and that some tenants lean on strategically.

5. The Luxurious Holiday Gambit

This one is less a legal tactic than a brazen personal one. A tenant pleads financial hardship, promises payment is coming, and buys sympathy from the landlord. Meanwhile, their social media tells a different story — holidays, restaurants, new purchases.

In one documented case, a tenant was contacted by a breach management specialist after the agency noticed photos of an expensive overseas trip. When confronted professionally and directly, the tenant paid the full outstanding amount within two hours.

The lesson: sometimes the money is there. The question is whether the right pressure is being applied.

6. Self-Sequestration

For landlords who manage to get a judgment for arrear rental after the eviction, collecting on that judgment can be another battle entirely. A tenant who knows the game can sequestrate (declare personal insolvency) or, if operating through a company, liquidate that entity. Once that happens, recovering money through normal legal channels becomes extremely difficult.

This is why experienced professionals say: don't throw good money after bad. Getting the tenant out and re-letting the property is almost always the better financial outcome than pursuing the debt.

What Landlords Can Do

Screen properly from the start. A thorough credit check, affordability assessment, employment verification, and — crucially — a search against any existing database of problematic tenants is the first line of defence. An experienced rental agency has access to tools and records that a private landlord managing on their own typically does not.

Issue the letter of demand immediately. The single most common mistake landlords make is waiting. Every month of leniency is a month the tenant is not in breach, and the eviction clock hasn't started. The moment a payment is missed, the letter of demand should go out — no later than the 7th of the month to ensure it falls within that calendar month.

Don't negotiate directly. When a landlord or agent negotiates directly with a difficult tenant, the dynamic is personal. The tenant knows who they're dealing with and can gauge how far they can push. A professional third party — one who deals with these situations daily and carries the weight of legal process behind them — changes the conversation entirely.

Have professional support in place before you need it. This is perhaps the most important point. A service like Xpello, which provides breach management and full eviction coverage for a flat R250 monthly membership per lease, needs to be registered before a problem arises. They don't take on existing breaches. The time to get covered is when the lease is signed — not when the first payment is missed.

Their breach management team engages directly with tenants using a process refined over nine years and thousands of cases. In 98% of situations, the matter is resolved before it ever reaches court — whether through payment, a payment arrangement, or a voluntary vacating of the property.

A Note on Empathy

It's worth saying: not every tenant who struggles to pay is gaming the system. Job losses, medical emergencies, and relationship breakdowns are real, and they affect people's ability to pay rent. Many tenants in arrears are genuinely distressed, not strategically delinquent.

The value of professional breach management isn't just that it applies pressure — it's that it also listens. Understanding why a tenant isn't paying sometimes opens up solutions that a landlord acting alone, frustrated and financially stressed, would never find. A payment arrangement. A negotiated exit. Even, in rare cases, help with a truck or assistance finding alternative accommodation.

The goal, always, is resolution — not confrontation.

But being empathetic doesn't mean being unprepared. Knowing how the system can be abused is what allows you to put the right protections in place so that your goodwill is never mistaken for an opportunity.