Accommodation providers urged to end demanding deposit from NSFAS funded college students
Accommodation providers urged to end demanding deposit from NSFAS funded college students
Blog Article
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has urged landlords never to require a deposit or top-up payment from NSFAS-funded students.
This comes just after NSFAS received experiences about some accommodation vendors who demand NSFAS-funded students to pay for a deposit or top-up payment to be able to get usage of the authorised private accommodation.
Friday, February 7, 2025
"NSFAS reminds accommodation vendors from the obligatory conditions, as supplied by the Standardised Fixed-Term Lease Agreement between the non-public accommodation companies and NSFAS funded students," NSFAS said in a press release on Thursday.
The Standardised Fixed-Term Lease Agreement states that the lease will likely be paid out every month to your accommodation supplier (lessor) by NSFAS, on behalf of your lessee (NSFAS funded student), in accordance with the NSFAS conditions and terms for personal accommodation companies’ participation on the student accommodation portal.
"The lessor may not require or allow the lessee to pay a deposit, top-up payments, or any other types of payment into the lessor, or every other person in reference to this agreement, together with payment of hire, while awaiting payment from NSFAS. The lessor shall have no recourse in opposition to the lessee for any default during the payment of rent nsfas allowances by NSFAS," the arrangement reads.
The NSFAS terms and conditions for private accommodation providers’ participation on the student accommodation portal also states that: "Where the NSFAS-funded student is defunded on account of an incorrect selection by NSFAS, the coed will not be answerable for payment of any nsfas academic pathways arrear rent to your accommodation supplier, up right up until the date of being defunded."
NSFAS discussed that in which the NSFAS-funded student chooses to continue occupying the leased premises, notwithstanding nsfas allowances being defunded by NSFAS, the student will be answerable for payment of lease for the lessor more info from your day of staying defunded.
"Where the student is defunded by NSFAS due to a misrepresentation by the lessee/guardian at any stage, the student must immediately vacate the leased property; and will be liable for payment of all rent due to the accommodation provider.
"Where the student moves, accommodation providers without the prior approval of NSFAS, NSFAS may elect not to pay any rental to the new accommodation provider, and any such rental payments will be for the student own account," the scheme said.
The scheme emphasised that any dispute arising between the parties regarding the interpretation or implementation check here of the agreement, must be dealt with in accordance with any dispute resolution procedure determined by NSFAS for this purpose.
From: SAnews.gov.za