Accommodation companies urged to stop demanding deposit from NSFAS funded students
Accommodation companies urged to stop demanding deposit from NSFAS funded 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 acquired experiences about some accommodation providers who need NSFAS-funded students to pay for a deposit or top-up payment so that you can get access to the approved private accommodation.
Friday, February 7, 2025
"NSFAS reminds accommodation companies on the obligatory conditions, as supplied by the Standardised Fixed-Term Lease Arrangement concerning the non-public accommodation vendors and NSFAS funded students," NSFAS reported in a press release on Thursday.
The Standardised Fixed-Term Lease Agreement states the lease are going to be paid regular on the accommodation company (lessor) by NSFAS, on behalf on the lessee (NSFAS funded student), in accordance with the NSFAS terms and conditions for personal accommodation providers’ participation on the student accommodation portal.
"The lessor may not involve or permit the lessee to pay for a deposit, top-up payments, or any other varieties of payment to your lessor, or some other person in connection with this arrangement, including payment of lease, whilst awaiting payment from NSFAS. The lessor shall don't have any recourse towards the lessee for any default while in the payment of rent by NSFAS," the agreement reads.
The NSFAS conditions and terms for private accommodation vendors’ participation on the student accommodation portal also states that: "Where the NSFAS-funded student is defunded due to an incorrect determination by NSFAS, the scholar will not be liable for payment of any arrear rent towards the accommodation supplier, up till the date of being defunded."
NSFAS spelled out read more that in which the NSFAS-funded student chooses to carry on occupying the leased premises, notwithstanding currently being defunded by NSFAS, the read more scholar are going click here to be responsible for payment of lease into the lessor with the day of getting 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 here 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 of the agreement, must be dealt with in accordance with any dispute resolution procedure get more info determined by NSFAS for this purpose.
From: SAnews.gov.za