Guides · Rentals
Observatory, Mowbray and Rosebank are some of the busiest rental areas in Cape Town. Older semi-detached houses and cottages, blocks of flats and a steady turnover of student and young professional tenants mean maintenance calls are frequent. For a letting agent, the plumbing or electrical fault is rarely the hard part. Getting a contractor to turn up when they said, and finding out afterwards what was actually done, is.
Observatory takes its name from the Royal Observatory, founded there in the 1820s, and many of its streets are lined with late-Victorian semi-detached houses. With the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital close by, Obs, Mowbray and Rosebank have long been a student and young-professional rental market. Old houses and a steady turnover of tenants keep plumbers and electricians busy: pipework and wiring altered many times over the decades, and fittings that get heavy use.
What usually goes wrong
- Chasing the contractor. Three or four follow-up calls to find out when someone is coming.
- Tenants taking a day off work for a visit that's "sometime between eight and five".
- No record of the work. An invoice with one total and no photos, so it's hard to explain to the landlord.
- Repeat callouts for the same problem because it was patched rather than fixed.
How we work with rental properties
A confirmed time window
We agree a time window with the tenant or the agent, whichever you prefer, rather than a whole day. Saturday call-outs are at normal rates, for when weekdays genuinely don't work.
A report before any work starts
Once we're on site, we send a pre-visit report with photos, the cause of the fault and an itemised quote straight from the property, from our own app. The agent approves it with the landlord, and nothing is done without that approval.
A photographed report when it's done
When the job is finished, you get a report with photos of the completed work, signed in our own app by the tenant or the person who let us in. The invoice is itemised, so every part and every hour is accounted for.
The common jobs in these suburbs
Leaking and burst geysers, blocked drains in older sewer lines, dripping taps and running toilets, tripping distribution boards and faulty plugs and lights. We handle both the plumbing and electrical side ourselves, so a geyser that turns out to be an element fault doesn't need a second contractor.
Agency rates
We set fixed rates for each letting agency, based on its portfolio and held for 12 months. See how we work with rental agents.
Rental maintenance across the Southern Suburbs
We look after rental properties in Observatory, Mowbray, Rosebank, Rondebosch, Pinelands and Kenilworth, through to Muizenberg, Fish Hoek and the rest of the South Peninsula.
Common questions
Do you work directly with letting agents?
Yes. We work with letting agents and property managers, and can deal with either the agent or the tenant to arrange access.
Do you do rental maintenance on Saturdays?
Yes. Saturday call-outs are at normal rates, for when weekdays don't suit the tenant.
Will the landlord see what was done?
Yes. Every job gets a quote with photos before work starts, and a photographed report and itemised invoice once it's done.
Do you offer fixed rates for agencies?
Yes. We set fixed rates for each agency, based on its portfolio and held for 12 months.