Troubles With Building Administration

[rihornos]

Hello Ryan

I think you must be paying a rent in dollars because you don`t have a guarantor so you are paying for that situation in which the owner agreed, Iam a local and I also have a flat that I rent but when my tennant calls because he has no light I have the numbers of the gas fitter/plumber/electrician and I go running to the flat to fix electricity or whatever because "he pays to have services running and he pays for a fully furnished flat with services" so I really can`t understand when you say you don`t have light in your room things of that kind.... believe me if I see this I start looking for another flat right away .....sorry but that is my point of view I don`t have much patience specially if Iam the one that is paying for somenthing.

 

[mini]

I think Ryan has a regular 2 year contract. But managed to get it without a guarantia. And the issue is he doesn't have light in the bathroom, not in the room.

If you don't have electricity in that bathroom that is the owners responsibility. If you don't have a working light fixture in the bathroom that's the tenant's responsibility.

Personally, I would tell I'm going to get the stuff fixed and them I'm going to deduct it from the rent unless she wants to take care of it.

It does not matter if you have a guarantia or not. She agreed to rent you the place without the guarantia. She still has the same obligations. No guarantia does not mean she can leave the place in a dump! But I think she thinks that it means you won't leave.

 

[Attorney in BA]

Ryan, if your landlord accepted signing a contract with no guarantor that is his/her issue, not yours. This does not affect the validity of the contract, and having a guarantor would not give you any additional rights.

Anything you agree with the landlord should be in writing, and if you can, reviewed first by a lawyer. Also, check when your 2 year contract will end, and extend it before putting more money into the apartment (or at least be sure that you have the option to extend it when the 2 years are over).

If there are things that should be the landlord's responsibility but are not done (for example, the electricity in the bathroom), you could have it done and then deduct it from the rent (check the contract first, and consult a lawyer).

 

[BAJoe]

Ryan you need to mail a CARTA DOCUMENTO ON TUESDAY!! (or Wednesday).
It´s the only legal recourse that sets a date to bind them by. (describe prior claims, calls, letters.)

An atty will charge about 100-120 pesos to write one up for you, plus $35 for the letter.

The letter will sound harsh, and agressive, but no worry. You will give them 10-15 days to start work on fixing the problems after stating them thoroughly.

They will reply DENYING ALL WRONGDOING and RESPONSABILITY but your lawyer will know how to force them to start work. (the denial is a standard custom. But after the CD they will talk and react in order to avoid a lawsuit.)

If, as a tenant you can´t complain to the administrator (ask lawyer) THAN DIRECT YOUR "CARTA DOC" to YOUR LANDLORD!!! and threaten to put the monthly rent in escrow. (DEPOSITO JUDICIAL). It will take them YEARS TO GET IT and they can´t kick you out till end of contract.

CONCLUSION, they will start to fix it SOON!!

 

[jantango]

Perhaps only the luxury buildings in the city have top notch administrations where transparency is an obligation according to the law, because of all the lawyers and accountants living in the building who are members of the owners' council. They don't allow the laws to be overlooked.

The previous administration (2018- Nov 2021) changed the cleaning lady from unofficial to official Sept 2018. That has cost our consorcio $1.432.168,07 over five years -- two days a week, three hours per day. I suspect it was so that the cleaning lady could accrue the years she lacks to retire soon at 71. Needless to say, this has put the consorcio in a serious financial situation. The administrator never provided a copy of the bank statements with the liquidations. The owners council didn't ask or seem to care about it, but I did. This administrator robbed us. There is no proof since she did not turn over the consorcio archives to the new administrator.

The new administration took over Dec 2021, who happens to be a soccer pal of one of the owners. There is no transparency or accountability. His friend goes along with everything. Some owners are still unaware of this personal friendship. There was no vote. We were told to sign a document appointing someone we didn't know and had no information about, other than "he manages 30 consorcios so he must be good." The first liquidation was enough confirmation of corruption for me, since all the funds were paid to the previous administrator for "bills she paid out of her own funds" without any documentation. I sent the new administrator a carta documento immediately asking for copies of everything and got a phone call from him -- "I don't have time for this." That was proof that they were not turned over to him. I finally filed with the consumer protection and had mediation sessions with him where he said "I paid what I am responsible for under my administration." The previous administrator left the consorcio with considerable debt to AySA and the employee syndicate. The outstanding contributions in Nov 2021 were included in my accrued expenses. I knew the day would come when the consorcio would be faced with another big debt. I scanned all the legal documents that were delivered and shared them with the consorcio by email. Thanks to the administrator who ignored the unpaid contributions for the employee, the consorcio received a demand from an accountant of more than $129K. There is no money to pay this, so the interest continues to accrue, as it does for AySA.

I review every liquidation to note the errors and omissions, calculate the accrued bills pending payment and then send a corrected copy to owners who live outside the building. We received the liquidations on paper until recently (wasting money doing so). I scanned everything and included the water and electric bills (which is the administrator's obligation). The contributions have not kept pace with the monthly expenses, so it is no surprise that the consorcio has huge debt. The August liquidation received last week noted in red letter the following:

IT IS REPORTED THAT AS A RESULT OF THE HIGH MOROCITY OF DIFFERENT FUNCTIONAL UNITS
REGARDING THE MONTHLY OBLIGATION OF EXPENSE PAYMENT, THE CONSORTIUM HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO FACE COMPLIANCE REGARDING THE PAYMENTS OF: F. 931, AYSA, DISINSECTATION, ACCOUNTANT, AND ADMINISTRATION FEES.

The administration blames the consorcio for the negative bank balance and outstanding bills. He has increased his administration fees without the approval of the consorcio several times, but hasn't increased the monthly contribution since March 2023 to cover the increase in monthly expenses or start a reserve fund for maintenance projects. It is interesting that the description above assumes that every owners knows what F.931 is. This is another example of how information is withheld on purpose. It doesn't include the amounts either. I know that the consorcio debt in excess of $1.3M pesos.

The August liquidation did not indicate an increase in the contribution. The administration has no clue how to manage money.

I share my experiences as a red flag to those who may find themselves in the same situation with an administration that doesn't know how to do the job or comply with the obligations set forth in the law, or an owners' council that goes along with anything the administrator says that is not in the interest of the owners.

 

[Redpossum]

Wow, and here I was all pissed off because I have been waiting 10 days for a reply to a request to fix the sliding door.

 

[hoda0010]

I'm currently in a long-term, 3 year contract. We pay expenses, but obviously aren't supposed to pay the extraordinary expenses. The problem is the administration doesn't break out extraordinary and ordinary expenses on the bill we recieve.

By law, is this something they should be doing? We did contact the administration who gave us some line about how the building decided they didn't want to do it that way and so they don't. This seems suspect to me though. Does anyone know if they're required to break out extraordinary and ordinary expenses on the statement we recieve?

 

[Quilombo]

I'm currently in a long-term, 3 year contract. We pay expenses, but obviously aren't supposed to pay the extraordinary expenses. The problem is the administration doesn't break out extraordinary and ordinary expenses on the bill we recieve.

By law, is this something they should be doing? We did contact the administration who gave us some line about how the building decided they didn't want to do it that way and so they don't. This seems suspect to me though. Does anyone know if they're required to break out extraordinary and ordinary expenses on the statement we recieve?

They should be, yes, but as a renter you have the problem of lacking standing is my understanding, i.e. you can't denounce them, only the owners can. That being said, I would ask that the owner to whom you pay rent demands this or denounces them, and if they don't, pressure the owner by hinting you will get AFIP involved because they're likely not declaring their income.

 

[gracielle]

Click anywhere on the article in Spanish to open the menu. Next click on Translate to English.

▷ ¿Qué dice la nueva ley de alquileres sobre las expensas?

La nueva ley de alquileres introdujo importantes modificaciones respecto de qué tipo de expensas le corresponde a los inquilinos y cuáles a los propietarios.

defensoriainquilinos.com.ar

 

[jantango]

The FORMULARIO de DENUNCIA para VECINOS al Registro Administradores de Consorcios de la C.A.B.A. provides the option for a PROPIETARIO or INQUILINO to file a complaint. You can start with the owners council. If the consorcio wanted the two funds together, that decision would be stated in the minute book. The answer given is a red flag that the administrator is doing things the easy way so that he could, for example, put money in a certificate of deposit without disclosure and then collect the interest for himself. We experienced that con in 2018.

Administrators are not transparent about the consorcio's finances when that is their primary job. One indication of a corrupt administration and an owners council that goes along with it is nondisclosure of the bank account statements and copies all bills that support the data in the liquidations. If this isn't being done, you have an administrator with members of the council who are stealing.

Our administrator "didn't have the time" for an assembly when his mandate expired on November 29, 2022, I waited to see how long it would take. The council that includes his friend did nothing. The agenda indicated only his renewal as administrator, not the other options of removal or resignation. Finally the assembly was held on February 23, 2023. This will be another item in my next complaint against him. No one calls him out on anything. I plan to start a search soon for three candidates for the end of his mandate on November 29, 2023, who do not know anyone in the building. I have seen how the person who presents an administrator to the consorcio gets special treatment during the mandate. That's the way it is. It can be avoided.