What does the Rental Housing Act ask?
The ingoing (move-in) inspection, sometimes called an incoming inspection, is one of several steps section 5 of the Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999 sets for a residential lease.
| Step | When | What the Act says | Section |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written lease | On request | The landlord must put the lease in writing if the tenant asks. | s5(2) |
| Ingoing inspection | Before the tenant moves in | Landlord and tenant inspect together to record defects or damage. The list of defects is attached to the lease. | s5(3)(e), s5(7) |
| Deposit | Before occupation, if the landlord requires one | Invested in an interest-bearing account with a financial institution, at no less than the savings-account rate. Proof of the interest on request. | s5(3)(c)–(d) |
| Receipts | Every payment | A dated written receipt that names the dwelling and what the payment is for. | s5(3)(a)–(b) |
| Outgoing inspection | Within three days before the lease ends | Arranged together. | s5(3)(f) |
| No joint inspection | Either inspection | The landlord is deemed to accept that the home is in good repair, and the full deposit plus interest is refunded. | s5(3)(j) |
The Act reads the receipt, deposit and inspection terms of s5(3) into every lease, and they cannot be signed away (s5(4)).
What should you record on the day?
Walk the home together and write down what you see, room by room. This list covers what usually comes up at the end.
- Every room Walls, ceilings, floors, windows and their locks, doors and handles, light fittings and plugs, curtains and blinds.
- Kitchen and bathrooms Taps, drains, geyser, stove and oven, cupboards, tiles and grout, any damp.
- Outside Garden, gates, remotes, walls, outbuildings.
- Keys, remotes and meters The keys and remotes handed over, and the meter readings.
- Each defect In writing, with a photograph taken close up and one from across the room.
- The first page The date and both names.
The list of defects goes with the lease (s5(7)).
On Professional and Business, start from a joint inspection report template. Print this page and only the checklist prints, on one A4 page.
How do you keep it as one sealed record?
Five steps turn the walk-through into one file that landlord and tenant can both check at move-out.
- 01
Photograph
Take the photographs with your phone, room by room, with the notes.
- 02
One PDF
Upload them to KuduDoc and keep the photographs as one PDF.
- 03
Both sign
Send it for signing: an ordinary electronic signature from each of you.
- 04
Seal
The completed file gets a fingerprint and a timestamp anchor. See what a seal records.
- 05
Check later
At move-out, either of you can check the sealed file, free, without an account.
The other person signs from the link in their email, with a free KuduDoc account. Personal allows up to three signers on a document: landlord, tenant and agent.
12 Oak Avenue Wed 1 Apr 2026
Johan Pretorius, landlord, with Lerato Mokoena, tenant
- Entrance
- Lounge
- Kitchen · 2
- Main bedroom
- Bathroom · 1
- Outside
- Keys and meters
Kitchen
Signed on the day 12 pages · 26 photographs
Public checker At move-out · 29 Mar 2027
A match shows that the file has not changed since it was sealed. It does not show what the rooms looked like or who is right about a mark.
The ECT Act weighs an electronic record partly by how reliably its integrity was kept (s15). A seal gives both of you a way to show the file is unchanged since sealing.
If you also signed a paper inspection report, keep the paper. A sealed scan does not replace a paper original where one is required.
Opening the file in Adobe Acrobat? It shows the seal as certified by KuduDoc. Here is what a PDF reader’s signature messages mean, and how to check whether a PDF has been changed.
Letting several homes? Record the inspection on your phone in the lease register, beside each lease’s dates.
What happens at the end of the lease?
Landlord and tenant inspect together within three days before the lease ends (s5(3)(f)). Bring the sealed ingoing record and compare the rooms against it.
Then the deposit. When it comes back depends on what is owed.
| Case | Refund due | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing owed | Deposit and interest, within 7 days of the lease ending. | RHA s5(3)(i) |
| Deductions for amounts owed, damage or lost keys | The balance, within 14 days of the home being restored. | RHA s5(3)(g) |
| The tenant does not respond to a request to inspect | The balance, within 21 days of the lease ending. The landlord inspects within 7 days of the end. | RHA s5(3)(k)–(m) |
| Any deduction | Receipts for the deductions are available to the tenant. | RHA s5(3)(h), (n) |
Keep the lease, the deposit receipt and the inspection together, so the outgoing inspection starts with the ingoing record open.
A fixed-term lease has notice dates too, where the Consumer Protection Act applies: see when the lease notice is due.
Once the tenancy is over, see how long to keep the lease records.
Questions people ask
What is an ingoing inspection?
A joint inspection of a rental home by the landlord and the tenant before the tenant moves in, to record any defects or damage. The Rental Housing Act requires it (s5(3)(e)), and the list of defects is attached to the lease (s5(7)).
When is the outgoing inspection?
Within three days before the lease ends. Landlord and tenant arrange it together (Rental Housing Act s5(3)(f)).
What if the landlord does not inspect with the tenant?
The Act treats that as the landlord accepting that the home is in good repair, and the full deposit plus interest must be refunded (Rental Housing Act s5(3)(j)).
How long does a landlord have to refund the deposit?
Seven days after the lease ends if nothing is owed. If there are deductions for amounts owed or damage, the balance is refunded within 14 days of the home being restored. If the tenant does not respond to a request to inspect, the balance is refunded within 21 days after the lease ends (Rental Housing Act s5(3)(g)–(m)).
Does the deposit earn interest?
Yes. The landlord invests it in an interest-bearing account with a financial institution, at no less than the savings-account rate, and must give you proof of the interest if you ask (Rental Housing Act s5(3)(d)). If the landlord is a registered estate agent, the estate agency law applies instead.
Does a sealed inspection report prove the damage was there?
No. Sealing shows that the file is unchanged since the day it was sealed. That is a fact about the file’s bytes, not about what the rooms looked like or who is right about a mark. It gives landlord and tenant the same record to look at later.
Do we both need a KuduDoc account?
Yes, and a free Personal account is enough for each of you. One of you sends the inspection report from KuduDoc and the other signs from the link in their email. Anyone can check the sealed file later on KuduDoc’s free public checker, without an account. Personal allows up to three signers on a document.
Sources
- Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999gov.zaSection 5: the written lease, receipts, the deposit and its interest, the joint inspections, the refund deadlines and the defects list.
- Rental Housing Amendment Act 43 of 2007gov.zaThe 2007 change to s5(3)(b) on receipts.
- Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002gov.zaSection 15: the weight a court gives an electronic record.
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