Legal Question - Landlord Issue

[LIVE54]

Hey All,

So we had the unfortunate pleasure of a pipe breaking in our bathroom, the water flooded the downstairs bedroom/bathroom and the walls and ceiling now have water damage (plaster/paint etc..)

Our landlord had the building plumber come look and in order to find the issue he basically gutted the entire bathroom. Toilets, sinks, tile floor was all removed and taken up, they replaced all of the old pipes from the bath, sink and toilet to the main drainage. So we have been dealing with workers coming and going for two weeks to repair the plumbing, and are living in a bedroom/bathroom downstairs that has water damage, ceiling falling apart with paint and plaster falling off the walls... Work has taken two weeks so far, the bathroom repairs should be finalized next week, but we are being told that the plaster and paint cannot be repaired until it has dried in 2-3 more weeks. I asked our landlord for a reduction in the rent as we have been unable to use a large portion of the space that we pay for, her response was that since this is a building "consorcio" issue that she is not responsible and will not accept any deduction.

This is not the first issue we have had with our landlord, last year another internal water line broke (landlords responsibility, it was repaired with electrical tape previously!) and caused a flood in the kitchen overnight.. Not a huge deal, we cleaned up the water, fixed the line and all was fine in a few days... The issue is that a part of the kitchen area had a wood floor, which after about a week we knew it would need to ripped up and replaced from the water damange... This took 6 months from start to finish as our landlord postponed the work, workers didn't show up and finally she decided to have the floor repaired using cement, which she never sealed, so 5 days after it was laid, it all cracked and needed to be ripped up and re-done.. She has also poorly managed other issues that have come up, taking weeks to arrange someone to come repair small issues (electrical, appliances she is responsible for). The reality is she does the cheapest possible work and takes her sweet time to find the cheapest person, which causes delays on our end, and dealing with unreliable workers and work being done improperly and needing to be re-done.

Rant over... now to my question, legally is she correct in that she doesn't have to provide a rent reduction for the nearly month of inconvenience and unusable space? Anyone have a similar issue that can tell me how it ended?

 

[Bajo_cero2]

He is right. That is the law.

 

[nikad]

That is not the law, you have rights, according to Ley de Alquileres art 1515 y 1523 Obligacion de Garantia

Si por causa de los trabajos que deba realizar el locador en cumplimiento de su obligación de garantía, se interrumpe el normal uso y goce o resultan incómodos para el inquilino, puede éste solicitar la cesación del arrendamiento o una disminución proporcional en el pago mientras duren las reparaciones. Si el locador no estuviese de acuerdo, podrá el locatario resolver el contrato. En cualquier supuesto, se requiere que las molestias sean mayores, quedando esto sujeto a apreciación judicial.

 

[LIVE54]

Nikad, would your reference apply even if the interruption/work required is caused by a building issue, not a fault of the landlord? Her claim is that since the pipe that broke is the buildings responsibility that she should not be liable for any reductions. I am also trying to find out if this is true or not, no one in the consorcio has explained to me that this is truly the responsibility of the consorcio... either way, my landlord is the one (mis)managing things with the workers so even if the consorcio is responsible she has been involved greatly, which has lead to delays and people not showing up when they are supposed to...

My point to her was that I do not have access to all of the space that I paid for, why should I pay all of the rent...and if she is the one arranging work and creating delays that impact me she should be held accountable for that.... seems like two fair points to me.

 

[Rich One]

The piping under the bathroom floor is part of the Common Space and is the responsibility of the Consorcio. This happened to me they had to break the floor etc, no bath for a month The consorcio took care of it and the damage to the downstairs appt.

 

[LIVE54]

The piping under the bathroom floor is part of the Common Space and is the responsibility of the Consorcio. This happened to me they had to break the floor etc, no bath for a month The consorcio took care of it and the damage to the downstairs appt.

Rich One, are you the owner or the tenant? If you are the tenant, did your LL offer any type of reduction in the rent?

 

[Rich One]

I'm a tenant received no rent reduction, I went away for that period!!
This year we had no gas in the entire building for 8 months due to a building gas piping problem, there were no rent increases ..? you can negotiate that...?
Good Luck

 

[nikad]

Nikad, would your reference apply even if the interruption/work required is caused by a building issue, not a fault of the landlord? Her claim is that since the pipe that broke is the buildings responsibility that she should not be liable for any reductions. I am also trying to find out if this is true or not, no one in the consorcio has explained to me that this is truly the responsibility of the consorcio... either way, my landlord is the one (mis)managing things with the workers so even if the consorcio is responsible she has been involved greatly, which has lead to delays and people not showing up when they are supposed to...

My point to her was that I do not have access to all of the space that I paid for, why should I pay all of the rent...and if she is the one arranging work and creating delays that impact me she should be held accountable for that.... seems like two fair points to me.

If she is managing things that is because it is not related to the building, otherwise the building managers would be taking care of it. In any case, you will find this out with your coming expensas, if it was a building problem it will be stated on your expensas.

 

[nikad]

To get any kind of deduction, proven that it was her unit the one with the problem and not a building problem, you will need a lawyer most likely.

 

[LIVE54]

To get any kind of deduction, proven that it was her unit the one with the problem and not a building problem, you will need a lawyer most likely.

Yeah, thats the fun part. The issue is 100% in our unit, it was the main drain pipe in the bathroom which did not impact any other people in the building. She is saying that this pipe is the buildings responsibility, therefore not her issue. However she used to be one of the board members on the consorcio, and from what I understand she got into a huge fight with the buildings plumber who started the work, and brought in another plumber that the building uses to finish.

The reality is that it likely is the buildings responsibility, I wont see it in the expensas, as they are included in my rent which I pay to my landlord... she handles the expensas directly.

For me its not about the money... I'm just tired of dealing with all of the issues and her delays to do what is best for her and not consider the inconvenience to my family... the only way to get her attention is money, then things start happening. So basically I want to make sure she gets this done quicky, unlike all the other issues in the past... figure if I am entitled to a rent reduction for the time it takes her to make the repairs that she will move faster...