Accommodation suppliers urged to stop demanding deposit from NSFAS funded college students
Accommodation suppliers urged to stop demanding deposit from NSFAS funded college students
Blog Article
The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has urged landlords to not demand a deposit or top-up payment from NSFAS-funded students.
This comes right after NSFAS obtained reports about some accommodation suppliers who require NSFAS-funded students to pay a deposit or top-up payment in order to get use of the accepted private accommodation.
Friday, February 7, 2025
"NSFAS reminds accommodation vendors from the compulsory conditions, as supplied by the Standardised Fixed-Term Lease Settlement among the non-public accommodation suppliers and NSFAS funded students," NSFAS stated in a press release on Thursday.
The Standardised Fixed-Term Lease Agreement states that the lease is going to be paid regular towards the accommodation service provider (lessor) by NSFAS, on behalf in the lessee (NSFAS funded student), in accordance with the NSFAS terms and conditions for personal accommodation companies’ participation on the student accommodation portal.
"The lessor may not demand or allow the lessee to pay for a deposit, top-up payments, or every other sorts of payment on the lessor, or some other person in connection with this agreement, like payment of hire, while awaiting payment from NSFAS. The lessor shall haven't any recourse against the lessee for any default during the payment of rent by NSFAS," the agreement 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 resulting from an incorrect determination more info by NSFAS, the student will not be responsible for payment of any arrear rent into the accommodation provider, up right until the date of being defunded."
NSFAS described that wherever the NSFAS-funded student chooses to carry on occupying the click here leased premises, notwithstanding staying defunded by NSFAS, the student are going to be answerable for payment of rent towards the lessor from your date of getting defunded.
"Where the student is nsfas university allowances 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 read more 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 nsfas the agreement, must be dealt with in accordance with any dispute resolution procedure determined by NSFAS for this purpose.
From: SAnews.gov.za