Walk the unit with the tenant. Mark each item wear or damage. The clock on your deposit refund starts at lease end, not whenever you get around to it.
The day the lease ends. Your refund deadlines are counted from here, per the Rental Housing Act s5(3).
For each item, decide: normal wear (your cost) or damage (deductible). If you're unsure, the test below decides.
The working test: would this item normally wear out, or have its life cut short, by ordinary use over the tenancy? Then it's wear. Did the tenant break it, neglect it, or use it wrongly? Then it's damage.
If nothing is owed, refund the full deposit within 7 days of lease end.
If you deduct, you have 14 days from lease end to refund the remainder, and you must give itemized proof of each deduction in writing.
If the tenant didn't attend the exit inspection, the deadline stretches to 21 days from lease end.
No damage marked. If that's the real state of the unit, the clean refund applies.
This is a working guide, not legal advice. Rules: Rental Housing Act 50 of 1999, s5(3); the wear-and-tear test follows the reasoning in Hammond Pole v Commissioner of SARS as commonly applied to lease disputes. Verify specifics for your lease with a qualified practitioner.