A Moral Dilemma. What Would You Do In My Situation?

[fred mertz]

If I were you, not having paid security deposit,I'd get out and move as fast as I could. What has been said is fine and makes a lot of sense. However, I don't think that the word "LOGIC" is in the Buenos Aires dictionary. Don't be the good guy. Your landlord will say that everything was perfect, when you moved in and you ruined everything. You will probably be billed for all repairs.

 

[nlaruccia]

The floor is not your fault, and as a matter of fact it is the building managers responsibility to get that repaired and charge it to the expensas. The sofa and chair, if I was you I would let him take a look, and see what he says. If he complains, offer to pay some $ towards a repair ( as those items were not new ) maybe a couple hundred pesos, and be done with it. You should have notified him when this happened though. He was extra nice not asking for a deposit, so I think reciprocating might be in order.

I second that. See if the administration or consorcio can repair the damage to the floor.

 

[estebandepraga]

In my eyes, there is No moral dilema here. I am a landlord and I expect normal "wear and tear"
And if you told him immediately about the floor, and he never came, it's his fault!
If you have been paying above a normal rent and in USD,despite the fact you never left a security deposit, I am sure he has done well(which is perfectly fine..that's also why one has an addl place to rent out!)
If he becomes a total jerk, suggest that you will be letting AFIP know about his charging in USD(illegal) and possibly(which I am sure is 100% sure) that he didnt pay taxes on it!

 

[Meri]

I get stressed here because I feel like I do more damage just using things normally than I ever did in the US (do to poor quality). I like to leave things as I found them but it's damn near impossible sometimes! Your landlord sounds cool having not collected a deposit so hopefully you can just reason with him/her. My last landlord overcharged me with rent and then had the nerve to keep a chunk of my deposit for "damaging" her already super crappy stuff. I still get pissed thinking about it....

 

[ben]

Think how would you feel if you were the owner of an apartment and a tenant accidentally warped the wooden floor you paid a lot of money for. It was an accident and not their fault, but nor is it your fault. Agreeing to pay an elevated rental price doesn't give one the privilege to not cover the cost of damage.

Disagree. The point to bear in mind is the difference between accidental damage - for which you may have a point - and damage that arises from entirely normal use, for which I believe you do not. If the tenant had 'warped the floor', even if only by accident, I might hear where you're coming from. As it stands, an owner has to be responsible for damage to something unless someone else is responsible for it.

Of course 'agreeing to pay an elevated rental price doesn't give one the privilege to not cover the cost of damage', and but when there is a clear question - to say the least - about whether the renter ought to bear this cost, an elevated rental price surely factors in. The higher the rental price vis-a-vis market rate, the more responsibility reverts to the owner if and when things go wrong. Particularly as in this case, it seems to be open and shut that renter bears no responsibility at all in any event.

There are many moments where I would share a sentiment like this. Assuming the facts of the case are as the OP lays them out, this is not one of them.

 

[jeff1234]

When moving in or moving out, photograph the condition of everything. You'll still have to deal with shoddy products that wear our too fast and with difficult owners but they wont be able to tell you that everything was perfect when you moved in. Same for car rental.

 

[estebandepraga]

good point jeff1234

 

[ajoknoblauch]

In my eyes, there is No moral dilema here. I am a landlord and I expect normal "wear and tear"
And if you told him immediately about the floor, and he never came, it's his fault!
If you have been paying above a normal rent and in USD,despite the fact you never left a security deposit, I am sure he has done well(which is perfectly fine..that's also why one has an addl place to rent out!)
If he becomes a total jerk, suggest that you will be letting AFIP know about his charging in USD(illegal) and possibly(which I am sure is 100% sure) that he didnt pay taxes on it!

Define "normal wear and tear." Not all landlords may be as understanding as you appear to be.

 

[BankNote]

Thanks friends.

Your insight was extremely helpful. Highly obliged to all.

 

[BaltRochGirl]

I don't agree that in a year and a half something can be damaged due to normal wear and tear, it's all about the quality you start with, we have bought things that lasted very well and things that disintegrated much too quickly. We are very disappointed with the durability of our couch fabric it has worn much more quickly than one would have expected in one year and it's pretty useless to complain or get it redone as their other fabric is probably just as bad, lesson learned and saving up for the next one much sooner than anticipated.

The floor should be covered by the neighbor.