Mogoditshane landlords warned against bad tenants
The newly-inaugurated Mogoditshane Chief, Kgosi Prince Dihutso, has warned landlords in his area to run criminal background checks on potential tenants before offering them space in their homesteads.
Dihutso officially took office in 2022 from his father Alfred Dihutso who had served for 28 years.
Speaking to The Midweek Sun during an interview, Dihutso said it is beneficial for landlords to do background checks on tenants and know who they do business with. He advised that the move can be beneficial as a majority will know people living in the communities.
He complained that some houses in Mogoditshane end up being occupied by illegal immigrants, drug dealers and a variety of thugs, which thing contributes to the high crime rate in the village.
"It is vital for landlords to know tenants than just focus on rental payments alone," Dihutso said, adding that renting is a business therefore people should know who they do business with.
Sharing similar sentiments, Mogoditshane police station commander, Superintendent Sharpson Mbuso added that it is even vital for home owners to know one another.
“Through the Neighbourhood Watch initiative, we encourage people to look out for one another, so to reduce the risk of crime,” he said.
Commenting on the issue, a 63-year-old landlord, Moitlamako Garebaboke said tenants were in the habit of swapping houses on their own, which makes it difficult for homeowners to know them. This they do on their own and exchange banking details of the owners, which makes it difficult for the landlords to know as rental money does not stop coming through.
"Sometimes we notice that the person we rented the house to, has long swapped for their preferred reasons. It is very difficult to know tenants in the city," he said.
However, another rented property owner, Elijah Moses, 57, said she keeps good track of the tenants in order to monitor and keep her property in good condition at all times.
"Tenants need to be monitored from time to time, otherwise they relax and cause damage to the rented property," Moses said.
Other lessors agreed to keeping up with tenants’ background as it helps during emergencies, as this makes it easy to trace relatives using the information gathered from tenants.