mags2810

Hi, new here and I am just after a bit of advice. My husband and I rented a rural property in Malaga in June for 6 months, there have been numerous problems and the agent always seemed reluctant to help. The owner lives in England.
When the floods came a short while ago the "casita" that is underneath the house was flooded.
Apparently there is a pump to prevent this but the electric has never worked down there and we used it for storage. The problem is that lots of our stuff is damaged, some irreplaceable as letters and photos.
We don't have the landlords contact details as he has refued to let the neighbour give me his email, and the agent has since informed us that they aren't paid to manage the property. They have forwarded me an email from him saying that its not his fault and it was a one off problem from the floods. I had asked it to be addressed as I was sure it would happen again. Last thursday it did flood again, luckily none of our stuff was damaged but we were left with a pool of sewerage down there till Monday. When the plumber came it was the pump that was at fault and he says it was lucky it hadn't happened before the rains.
My question is , is the landlord responsible for the damage to our stuff, should I find a lawyer or am I wasting my time completely

Rosemary

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

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Rosemary

cricketman

I wouldnt think that the landlord is responsible for the damage to your belongings - you should have contents insurance for that

However, if the landlord is refusing his resposibility to manage the property while you live there and making repairs then write him a letter/email - if you dont have his address then send to the estate agent, saying that you are not paying any rent until the repairs are made as the house is not in a good condition for living there

That should wake him up. If it doesnt then stop paying the rent and look to move out

mags2810

I havnt paid the rent for last month but if we move he wont pay the deposit back. He has contents insurance that the contract states we have paid for, it covers his furniture nothing more. Surely he must have some responsibility as it flooded because the pump isnt working. Problem being the agent isnt getting paid and we dont have his email so I have to go through her.
The sewerage is still in the casita as it slopes and the pump wont remove it all

cricketman

Is it a legal contract? i.e. a 5 year contract written in Spanish?

In any case, problem landlords are a nightmare. Hopefully your deposit is only 1 month, in which case, tell him you are moving out in 3 months to give yourself time to move out - and only pay the rent if he fixes the pump

Whenever renting its important to talk to the landlord beforehand, to make sure he is caring and responsible - and to agree on who pays for want for repairs etc. The proper contracts usually have clauses stating this - if he is in breach of these terms then you can denounce him and take him to court

missile

You would be best to look for a.n.other property. You have a 6 month contract and going to court would be a difficult costly excersise.

Not paying the rent may seem like a clever option, but beware. When you get a bad reputation, you might have difficulty getting a.n.other rental. If you were LL would you let to a tenant with a track record for non payment?

Domino

I had a spate of those, kept changing agents, landlords etc and the references were usually totally neutral.

Last one moved out suddenly when the Council Rates Dept caught up with him, owed them £oooddles from various properties.

Why is it landlords get all the bad rep whilst even the Govt seem to think the tenant is squeeky clean and put upon.
??

missile

..... all LLs are rich bourgeoisie, living of the backs of the poor working class.

amideislas

We have a small townhouse in Germany that we let. I can say with long experience that whenever anything happens - the fridge, the wash machine, the toilet, anything - we are responsible for paying to fix or replace it. Under the law, we would be legally fined into oblivion if we ever refused.

Not true here. One of our neighbours rents a small place from a local owner, and whatever happens, the owner always pushes it on the tenant. If the water pump breaks, not his problem, if the roof leaks, not his problem, if the sewer backs up, not his problem.

This seems to be the norm, and going to court seems to often end up in favour of the owner anyway (except in the case of evictions, which are still almost impossible, even if the tenant destroys the place and doesn't pay rent).

It's also rare that a landlord will return a deposit when a tenant moves out. There's always an excuse for keeping it. A deposit is considered more of a "gift" than something that is to be refunded.

I reckon since they probably can't ever evict you, they consider maintenance your problem, and your deposit just a nice perk, regardless of what the law or the contract says.

Is there anything that might lead you to believe they'd like you out? You might be able to turn that to your advantage :-)

Domino

mags2810

I really don't know if he has a reason for us to leave, the contract is up at the beginning of December. The fact is he wont communicate with us and he feels this is a "one off" even though its happened twice and the builder/plumber who did the installation says its the pumps fault.
I suppose the only thing to do is go as soon as, it is a 4 bed roomed house of which we can only use two bedrooms. No point taking this to a solicitor as he will charge us and still not fix the situation.
Moral being be very careful of dodgy landlords !!!!!
Thanks to everyone anyway

cricketman

[QUOTE=amideislas;10357579]Not true here. One of our neighbours rents a small place from a local owner, and whatever happens, the owner always pushes it on the tenant. If the water pump breaks, not his problem, if the roof leaks, not his problem, if the sewer backs up, not his problem.
[QUOTE]

Again not my experience. I've rented 3 flats in Spain. The landlord was responsible for maintanance in every case, and actually took responsibility. And we have always got our full deposit back

The key is to get a proper legal contract - and with a reputable agent. And make sure you both understand the rules before you move in. If the landlord doesnt want to talk to you then dont move in his house, he obviously doesnt give a s**t about you

mags2810

We did think the agent was reputable, to give them credit they were never contracted to manage the property, no wonder they swerved many an issue.
They were paid to find the tenant nothing more so I have read in the email sent to them from the owner. What his problem is with emailing me I dont know !!

amideislas

Well, as CMan pointed out, none of these things ever happen in Spain (it's just a conspiracy to perpetrated by those who are jealous of Spain's #1 standing in everything).

In the mean time, the real estate agent business here is actually a currency exchange business: Exchanging your cash into theirs. Personally, I would avoid them, if you can. It's easier said than done.

But yes, your best recourse is simple: Find something better and leave. Don't expect your deposit back. Fight for it, threaten court action if he refuses, but be pleasantly surprised if you get any of it at the end of the day.

Hopefully next time, you'll get a good one. I hope you do!

snikpoh

I think c'man is right when he says it's the agents fault because the contract is flawed!

Any contract should state who is responsible for maintenance etc.

Take a look at some contracts and see what they should say - make sure in future that any contract states who does what.

As a landlord I shouldn't be saying this but if you can not contact the owner and the agent is not helping, I would suggest holding money back until the issues are resolved. As things have turned sour, don't expect your deposit back.

Best of luck