I wanted to rent a room in an apartment for r1300 per month. The agency I was dealing with told me to sign the contract within less than a week otherwise I would loose the room, so I signed it before I could read the entire contract. I was required to pay e deposit of R4650 and I had made an oral agreement with them to pay part of that money. After the deadline they had given me arrived I realised that I could not raise the entire deposit so I lost the room. The contract now stipulates that if I leave a lease agreement before it ends without having a replacement I will be liable for full payment. However that contract did not say it is a lease contract and they gave me a separate lease contract with the lessor. Am I liable to pay for that substitute. Oh and by the way I asked one of the agents and she said they already have someone to take that room and that person chose to move in the following month. Now the agency refuses to give me the R1575 that I had already paid. What must I do. Please please help me.

It would help to know your general location because laws vary. But generally, if you sign a contract, you need to live up to the terms of that contract. If you didn't live up to your end you may be liable for penalties.

I received your answer and thanks for that but from what I received I discovered that I was clearly not clear enough. Firstly I am from South Africa. Secondly the contract I signed was not the lease contract. They gave me a second contract that stipulated that it was a lease contract. The first contract was between me and the agency. The second contract (which I didn't sign by the way) was between me and the lessor. Now the thing is I was given a certain time frame to gather the deposit they required from me. After the deadline passed and I could not gather all of the money, They said I could not move in any longer. However I had already paid in almost half of the required deposit. Now they say I will not get that money back because I am liable to pay rent until someone else moves into the room.

The problem is that I did not sign a lease contract so how can I be held liable for a lease I did not take? I am a student in university and I REALLY CANNOT AFFORD TO LOOSE THAT KIND OF MONEY. Please help me.

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Originally Posted by bobo4neo

I received your answer and thanks for that but from what I received I discovered that I was clearly not clear enough. Firstly I am from South Africa. Secondly the contract I signed was not the lease contract. They gave me a second contract that stipulated that it was a lease contract. The first contract was between me and the agency. The second contract (which I didn't sign by the way) was between me and the lessor. Now the thing is I was given a certain time frame to gather the deposit they required from me. After the deadline passed and I could not gather all of the money, They said I could not move in any longer. However I had already paid in almost half of the required deposit. Now they say I will not get that money back because I am liable to pay rent until someone else moves into the room.

The problem is that I did not sign a lease contract so how can I be held liable for a lease I did not take? I am a student in university and I REALLY CANNOT AFFORD TO LOOSE THAT KIND OF MONEY. Please help me.

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Sounds to me like you contracted through the agency to rent the unit. Then you were asked to sign a legal lease. At least in NYS both are legal documents and both are enforceable by law.

This may be a harsh lesson concerning reading what you sign before you sign it.

I understood, that you had not yet signed a lease. But you did sign a contract of intent to lease. Unless there was any stipulation that the contract was pending your coming up with the full deposit, then you are obligated. The agency took the apartment off the market when you signed the contract. That means they lost rental unitl they could find someone else to rent it. That means you are liable for their losses.

So you need to read VERY carefully what you did sign. Unless it gives you some sort of out, you are stuck.