Speaking about the rise in tenants missing their rent payments, Hollo noted that the rental market is under pressure, with the percentage of tenants making no rent payment rising from 6% in Q2 to 6.15% in Q3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that this is happening at a time when household budgets are tightening, leaving many tenants with very little room to manoeuvre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked why more people are struggling to meet their monthly rental obligations, Hollo pointed directly to broader economic conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As costs rise, Hollo explained that tenants are scrutinising their budgets and looking for expenses they can put off. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTenants tend to look at lines in their expenses that they can run to, and rental, unfortunately, is one of those,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Insurance is another major cost that people are increasingly skipping, and overall, it\u2019s just a matter of pressure on people\u2019s pockets, which is pushing them to miss key expenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is counterintuitive to many, given that rent is typically considered one of the most important expenses in any household budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut unfortunately, as things stand at the moment, it is one of those that people tend to skip,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He pointed to the familiar 50-30-20 budgeting rule, where essential expenses\u2014including rent, bond repayments, and rates\u2014should take up half of a household\u2019s income. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he noted that South Africa is seeing a creeping increase in expenses, such that people, even in the 50%, start missing key payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These can include car payments or rent, and because of the tightness of the budgets, people would go into default on the payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The importance of scaling down<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Old-Mutual-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nDespite the overall trend, some provinces continue to fare better than others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Western Cape, for instance, still has the highest percentage of tenants in good standing, despite a slight increase in non-payment\u2014from 5.28% to 5.51%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Hollo warned that this reflects deeper economic dynamics at play. \u201cThat also mirrors the economic performance of provinces,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cProvinces that tend to perform slightly better economically, such as the Western Cape, fare much better than the other provinces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He stressed that national pressures are affecting everyone. \u201cPeople are under massive pressure; we have to find ways to live within our means.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the most concerning trends is the increasing reliance of South Africans on credit. Instalments consume roughly 28% of the net income of credit-active consumers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Data shows that credit is increasingly being used for daily necessities. \u201cWe\u2019re starting to see people using credit for expenses that should not be covered through daily living expenses, your groceries,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are costs that ideally should never be financed through debt, but because there\u2019s so much pressure on the pocket, people are turning to credit to maintain lifestyles they can no longer afford. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For households under strain, Hollo stressed the importance of scaling down. Whether it\u2019s due to reduced income, a job loss, or a salary cut, adjusting spending quickly is essential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is nothing wrong, there\u2019s no shame in scaling down,\u201d he said. Cutting expenses, finding cheaper alternatives, and being realistic about what you can afford are crucial steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt might be tough to adjust to a new lifestyle, but it will be even worse if you don\u2019t cut down.\u201d Even when income hasn\u2019t fallen but is simply failing to keep up with inflation, he said, households should still manage expenses carefully. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thabo Hollo, Senior Programme Manager at Old Mutual Financial Education, has highlighted a worrying trend for landlords in South Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":782345,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11121],"tags":[1110,853,11731],"class_list":["post-845226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance","tag-old-mutual","tag-south-africa","tag-tpn"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845226"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":845661,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845226\/revisions\/845661"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/782345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nDespite the overall trend, some provinces continue to fare better than others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Western Cape, for instance, still has the highest percentage of tenants in good standing, despite a slight increase in non-payment\u2014from 5.28% to 5.51%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Hollo warned that this reflects deeper economic dynamics at play. \u201cThat also mirrors the economic performance of provinces,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cProvinces that tend to perform slightly better economically, such as the Western Cape, fare much better than the other provinces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He stressed that national pressures are affecting everyone. \u201cPeople are under massive pressure; we have to find ways to live within our means.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the most concerning trends is the increasing reliance of South Africans on credit. Instalments consume roughly 28% of the net income of credit-active consumers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Data shows that credit is increasingly being used for daily necessities. \u201cWe\u2019re starting to see people using credit for expenses that should not be covered through daily living expenses, your groceries,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are costs that ideally should never be financed through debt, but because there\u2019s so much pressure on the pocket, people are turning to credit to maintain lifestyles they can no longer afford. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For households under strain, Hollo stressed the importance of scaling down. Whether it\u2019s due to reduced income, a job loss, or a salary cut, adjusting spending quickly is essential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is nothing wrong, there\u2019s no shame in scaling down,\u201d he said. Cutting expenses, finding cheaper alternatives, and being realistic about what you can afford are crucial steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt might be tough to adjust to a new lifestyle, but it will be even worse if you don\u2019t cut down.\u201d Even when income hasn\u2019t fallen but is simply failing to keep up with inflation, he said, households should still manage expenses carefully. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thabo Hollo, Senior Programme Manager at Old Mutual Financial Education, has highlighted a worrying trend for landlords in South Africa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":782345,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11121],"tags":[1110,853,11731],"class_list":["post-845226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance","tag-old-mutual","tag-south-africa","tag-tpn"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845226"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":845661,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845226\/revisions\/845661"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/782345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}