Rental Housing Tribunal: The Free Remedy for Tenants and Landlords (2026)

If you are a tenant or landlord in South Africa with a dispute over a deposit, a lock-out, or another unfair practice, the Rental Housing Tribunal in your province is a free forum built specifically for that dispute. This guide explains what the Tribunal hears, how to lodge a complaint, and exactly how far its protection against eviction goes while your case is open.

Information last verified on 23 July 2026. This page provides general legal information about South African housing law and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case.

What Is the Rental Housing Tribunal

Section 7 of the Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999 allows the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) responsible for housing in a province to establish a Rental Housing Tribunal for that province by notice in the Gazette. Several provinces have done so. The Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng Tribunals are confirmed active and reachable, and other provinces may run their own; if you are outside these three, check with your provincial Department of Human Settlements to find the Tribunal covering you.

A Tribunal typically has three to five members appointed by the MEC. Its service is free for both tenants and landlords: the Western Cape government describes its Tribunal as free for all renters and landlords in the province, and Gauteng's Department of Human Settlements describes its own service the same way.

What the Tribunal Hears

Section 13(1) of the Act lets any tenant, landlord, group of tenants or landlords, or interest group lodge a complaint about an "unfair practice." The Act itself defines an unfair practice as one prescribed by regulation, and the prescribed list covers a wide range of landlord and tenant friction, including deposits, changing of locks, forced entry and obstruction of entry, eviction-related disputes, demolitions and conversions, House Rules, intimidation, issuing of receipts, municipal services (which is where a lock-out over utilities such as water or electricity typically falls), overcrowding and health matters, and maintenance or refurbishment work.

In practice, this makes the Tribunal the natural first stop for a tenant whose deposit has not been refunded on time, whose landlord has cut off services or changed the locks, or who is facing another practice covered by the list, without needing to go to court or hire an attorney.

How to Lodge a Complaint

Each province's Tribunal has its own intake process. Three confirmed contact routes:

• Western Cape: contact centre 0860 106 166, email rht.enquiries@westerncape.gov.za, or the province's "RHT Online" portal, all listed on the Western Cape government's Rental Housing Tribunal page.
• KwaZulu-Natal: the Durban office, on 031 372 1800, 031 372 1803, 031 372 1804 or 031 372 1805, or by email to info.rht@kzndhs.gov.za.
• Gauteng: the Gauteng Provincial Government's Human Settlements site carries a dedicated Rental Housing Tribunal page, and the Department of Human Settlements publishes a Rental Housing Tribunal FAQs document; use those to find the current office contact details for your area.

Find your own province before you lodge: the process, forms and office differ by Tribunal, and a complaint sent to the wrong provincial office will simply need to be redirected.

What Happens After You Lodge a Complaint

Section 13(2) to (4) sets out a three-stage process once your complaint is lodged. The Tribunal first lists the dwelling in its register and, through its staff, carries out a preliminary investigation into whether the complaint actually discloses a dispute that may be an unfair practice.

If it does, and the Tribunal thinks the dispute can be resolved through mediation, it appoints a mediator, who can be a Tribunal member, a staff member, or another suitable person, to try to settle the matter between you and the other party. Only where mediation is unsuitable, or a mediator certifies that the parties cannot resolve it that way, does the dispute proceed to a formal hearing. At a hearing the Tribunal can summon witnesses, call for documents, and administer an oath, before making a ruling it considers just and fair, which can include a ruling on costs.

Once a Tribunal is established for your province, section 13(9) generally requires an unfair practice dispute to go to it rather than to a magistrate's court, unless court proceedings on the same dispute are already under way.

Can You Be Evicted While Your Complaint Is Pending

Once you lodge a complaint, section 13(7) gives you a real but narrow protection: from the date you lodge it until the Tribunal rules on it, or three months pass, whichever happens first, the landlord may not evict you over that complaint, provided you keep paying the rent you were paying before you complained, and the landlord keeps up necessary maintenance.

Two limits matter and are easy to overstate:

• The protection is capped at three months. It does not run indefinitely just because the Tribunal has not yet decided the matter.
• It only covers the specific unfair-practice complaint before the Tribunal. Section 13(10) expressly preserves a landlord's right to approach a court for urgent relief, to sue for arrears in the normal way, or to seek eviction where there is no dispute about an unfair practice. Lodging a Tribunal complaint is not a way to block an unrelated arrears or eviction case, and you still have to keep paying rent throughout.

After a Ruling

Once the Tribunal makes a ruling, section 13(13) deems it to be an order of a magistrate's court under the Magistrates' Court Act, 1944. That means a ruling in your favour can be enforced the same way as any other magistrate's court judgment, without having to relitigate the underlying dispute in a separate court case.

Related Reading

For the eviction rules that apply once a landlord actually wants a tenant out, see eviction and the PIE Act. For the deposit rules the Tribunal often enforces, see lease agreements and deposits. For the wider section, see South Africa housing law, and for the full site, South Africa Laws.

This guide is general legal information about South African law and is not legal advice. For advice on your own situation, consult an attorney, or contact Legal Aid South Africa (0800 110 110) if you cannot afford one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Rental Housing Tribunal free to use?

Yes. The Tribunals in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, among others, are free for both tenants and landlords to use.

What kind of dispute does the Rental Housing Tribunal hear?

It hears complaints about an unfair practice, a term that covers deposits, lock-outs and forced entry, changing of locks, municipal services such as water or electricity cut-offs, overcrowding and other landlord or tenant friction listed in regulation.

Does every province have a Rental Housing Tribunal?

The Act lets each province's MEC establish one; it is not automatic in every province under current law. The Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng Tribunals are confirmed active. Check with your own province's Department of Human Settlements if you are elsewhere.

Can my landlord evict me while my Tribunal complaint is still open?

Not over that specific complaint, for up to three months from when you lodged it or until the Tribunal rules, whichever comes first, provided you keep paying your existing rent. This does not block an unrelated arrears claim or an urgent court application.

What happens once the Tribunal makes a ruling?

The ruling is deemed to be an order of a magistrate's court, so it can be enforced in the same way as any other court judgment.

Do I need an attorney to lodge a complaint with the Tribunal?

No. The Tribunal is designed as an accessible, free forum that a tenant or landlord can use directly, though nothing stops you from getting your own legal advice on a specific dispute.