No Contract, Strange Circumstances

[EliA]

I would play it cool for now. I'm with Mini - say you need AC and if they don't fix it you will need to find somewhere else to live, but I wouldn't start withholding rent just yet. If this lady is as shady as she sounds, I wouldn't be surprised (in the event that you anger her) if she waits for you to leave one day and changes the locks and then where does that leave you? Out $200 and all your belongings as well.

Maybe offer her half of December's rent until the AC is fixed, at which point you'll either pay the remainder or move halfway through the month; if it doesn't get fixed, stay out the month, don't pay the remainder as a way of recouping that deposit that seems all but lost, but relocate your valuables to a friend's house just in case!

 

[nikad]

Another idea is to contact her, let her know about the AC, offer to fix it and deduct from rent payment.

 

[Bairesgirl]

That sounds like a good idea /advice Nikad,

what would worry me are the rest: the non existence of a contract, the deposit, and the problem of whether the owner is or not the owner or is renting illegally .....

Bradley do you really want to stay in this appartment???

 

[nikad]

That sounds like a good idea /advice Nikad,

what would worry me are the rest: the non existence of a contract, the deposit, and the problem of whether the owner is or not the owner or is renting illegally .....

Bradley do you really want to stay in this appartment???

Yes, I agree with you. Considering there are tons of available apartments in the city, he could just stay for the amount of days he paid for ( and deduct some days with the deposit ) and move to another place where he gets a real contract, etc.

Unfortunately, this can happen with both temp and long term rentals; tenants are asked for all kinds of things to ensure the landlord feels safe, but I yet have to see any landlord providing proof that he really owns the property he is renting out...

If I was in Bradley´s situation, I would move somewhere else, unless I was provided with a contract and AC got fixed. If money is a problem I would stay there for the amount of days I have already paid for, but with very low expectations.

 

[HotYogaTeacher]

Attorneys can weigh in on this, but I've heard (from a realtor) that the best thing you can do to get a deposit back is to simply not vacate until it's returned. Getting someone out of an apartment in Arg legally is quite hard apparently so if you just don't move your stuff, give her the keys or, at the time of the vacating, not leave until she returns the money, she can't make you leave. If she wants to rent it to someone else, she'll have to return your cash. If you don't get it back you get to "live out" your deposit....

 

[Attorney in BA]

Attorneys can weigh in on this, but I've heard (from a realtor) that the best thing you can do to get a deposit back is to simply not vacate until it's returned. Getting someone out of an apartment in Arg legally is quite hard apparently so if you just don't move your stuff, give her the keys or, at the time of the vacating, not leave until she returns the money, she can't make you leave. If she wants to rent it to someone else, she'll have to return your cash. If you don't get it back you get to "live out" your deposit....

The case being discussed in this thread is very peculiar, as there is no written contract. Thus, the solution you propose could work. However, as someone mentioned before (and I think it was a good suggestion) you do have to weigh in the fact that if the landlord changes the locks, you have no contract to prove his wrongdoing and could end up losing even more than the deposit.

For regular leases, with written contracts, I wouldn't suggest that as an alternative except in very special, "pathological" circumstances. Even though evicting is not something fast in Argentina, and you could "live out" your deposit in the apartment before being evicted, most (if not all) lease contracts have severe penalties for not returning the property at the end of the lease. I'm not sure if this is also the case for short term leases, but It wouldn't surprise me if it was.