[Steve]

We live in a house in Corralejo on a long term rental contract. The water heater is defective due to wear and tear, it is old and the hot water is a dirty colour. We have asked our landlord to replace it but he says it is our responsibility and is quoting 2 sections of the contract. I have copied them below.

VI.- Declara el inquilino haber recibido la vivienda a estrenar en buen estado de conservación y en perfectas condiciones de habitabilidad y en normal funcionamiento sus distintas instalaciones y servicios.

El arrendatario está obligado a conservarlo con la diligencia debida y a devolverlo en el perfecto estado de conservación en que lo recibe.

VIII.- El arrendatario queda obligado y se compromete:
A.    Usar y conservar todos los objetos del presente arrendamiento con la máxima singularidad y diligencia, con objeto de devolverlo todo a su término en el mismo estado salvo el desgaste propio del uso, por lo que serán a su cargo las reparaciones y reposiciones conducentes a tal finalidad.

According to the contract sections who has to replace it, us or the landlord?

[bc1050]

My understanding of this is that the tenant is responsible for returning the property in the same condition as it was received except for normal wear and tear.

Does your landlord accept that the boiler problem is due to normal wear and tear?

[Yolanda P. – Ypama Abogados]

Hi,

 

You are saying that you are living in a house with a long term rental. This makes me  think that your contract is regulated by the Urban rental act (Ley de Arrendamientos Urbanos, LAU).

 

So, it is possible that you can defend that the heater is a piece of equipment that makes the house meet the minimum habitability conditions and, therefore, its maintenance has to be paid by the landlord as per article 21 (LAU).

 

It will depend on your situation that you can use this argument: date of the signature of the contract, renewals, etc.

 

Also, another thing to bear in mind is if it is worth a fight. I mean, if your threw/five years of renewals have ended but you want the contract to renew again, maybe it is not a good idea to fight with the landlord bearing in mind the cost of the replacement.

 

Maybe it could be a good idea to use this issue as a negotiation point to obtain a renewal in the contract?

[James Langridge]

Sorry to jump into this thread – I wasn’t able to create a new one so searched for ‘boiler’.

If a gas boiler fails a 5-year inspection under Real Decreto 919/2006 de 28 de julio (emitting too much carbon monoxide – outside, not indoors), but otherwise works fine, who is responsible to pay for the necessary cleaning to make the boiler compliant with the law?

My contract is quite onerous, making me responsible for all maintenance and repair of basically everything.  But I understand the LAU overrides this if necessary.

I suppose a dirty boiler is normal wear and tear.  But the last inspection was 5 years ago, and I’ve lived here for less than 2 years, so object to paying for 5 years’ worth of dirt.

The boiler works fine so I wouldn’t have called out any engineer, so I wonder (hope) if the landlord is responsible for compliance with this law?

Many thanks.

[Author]

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