Cheap and Liar landlord

[LetsDiscuss]

Do you have any of these records on Whatsapp or was it a verbal agreement?

The tribunals - including Lands do take agreement on Whatsapp as verbal contracts and they're easier to prove over "he said/she said" type arguments.

(I still cannot make sense of the rest of your post... will leave it to you and the rest to parse and give you options..)

Yes, I have whatsapp chat, but amount not big enough to go tribunals, I only afraid of my security deposit now.

I can clarify you if you have any questions about post, you can also check my reply to 'ndt'.

[bdw]

I discussed with him these problems and he refused to fix and I agreed because it was not showstopper issue but now I am thinking he is not keeping his words so why I should keep mine.

If he refused to fix the problems, you accepted, then he jacked up the rent 7%, well he seems like an arsehole, but your a bit silly for accepting these kind of terms.

[ByeByeEngland]

7 per cent increase is the most concerning thing about this thread. Surely not. Mine is up for renewal in 6 weeks time.

Cheap and liar landlord sums up about 80 percent of HK (with apologies to any decent ones amongst us here)

[LetsDiscuss]

If he refused to fix the problems, you accepted, then he jacked up the rent 7%, well he seems like an arsehole, but your a bit silly for accepting these kind of terms.

Yes, he is complete arsehole.

I accepted because rent is still lesser than market price around 300 HKD + Broker charges + shifting charges.

[ndt]

No, my previous contract was ending so autopay as well.

The 7% increased after actual start date (which is after ending previous contract) but landlord agreed to give me '1 month extra' discount. Ex: My contract ends on December so I signed the contract on January with 7% increase and agreed orally with landlord that 7% will start from Feb and I can enjoy Jan month in old rent.

I discussed with him these problems and he refused to fix and I agreed because it was not showstopper issue but now I am thinking he is not keeping his words so why I should keep mine.

I hope I am clear enough now, please let me know if you have any further questions.

Got it, bottomline is not enough prudence on your part, you verbally agreed for 7% discount and set up the instruction in advance while you could have paid first month by cheque or manual transfer when you knew nothing was written in B&W that was first obvious mistake.. On the other hand you agreed to go ahead with rent increase but without getting basic structural items fixed and left the table with one month discount on increased rent, that was second obvious mistake..

I would say, if the amount is not too big, suck it up and live and learn.. If Landlord is a real scumbag (more likely), nothing much you can do about it.. Also don't forget you are in first year of contract so he can trouble you more if you choose to go legal way..

[LetsDiscuss]

Got it, bottomline is not enough prudence on your part, you verbally agreed for 7% discount and set up the instruction in advance while you could have paid first month by cheque or manual transfer when you knew nothing was written in B&W that was first obvious mistake.. On the other hand you agreed to go ahead with rent increase but without getting basic structural items fixed and left the table with one month discount on increased rent, that was second obvious mistake..

I would say, if the amount is not too big, suck it up and live and learn.. If Landlord is a real scumbag (more likely), nothing much you can do about it.. Also don't forget you are in first year of contract so he can trouble you more if you choose to go legal way..

How I can save my security deposit from this arsehole ?

[Sage]

Got it, bottomline is not enough prudence on your part, you verbally agreed for 7% discount and set up the instruction in advance while you could have paid first month by cheque or manual transfer when you knew nothing was written in B&W that was first obvious mistake.. On the other hand you agreed to go ahead with rent increase but without getting basic structural items fixed and left the table with one month discount on increased rent, that was second obvious mistake..

I would say, if the amount is not too big, suck it up and live and learn.. If Landlord is a real scumbag (more likely), nothing much you can do about it.. Also don't forget you are in first year of contract so he can trouble you more if you choose to go legal way..

This is the long and short of it, but no need to suck it up.

Just get the 7% back when you move out by not paying the last rent (s) and make the last payment 7% less.

If you have WhatsApp logs showing the original ‘verbal’ agreement then you’ll be fine.

I would however Write a couple more WhatsApp’s to him, detailing why he owes you 7% and including also the issues with the damage that he’s refusing to fix. And make sure you keep those WhatsApp logs in a separate file on your computer so you don’t lose them

[ndt]

How I can save my security deposit from this arsehole ?

Don't overthink ans stress yourself for one whole year, follow what @Sage suggested and keep all whatsapp log, message him 2 months before expiry of contract and tell him you don't trust him based on previous experience so not going to pay for last 2 months (supported by Whatsapp log), see how it goes from there.. If you still want to claim 7% as well, you may have to do it 3 months earlier and pay 7% less and so on..

[dinosaurs88]

Don't take it the wrong way, but the way you describe your situation is convoluted and difficult to understand. So perhaps your landlord misunderstood, too. Also, your own fault for being too trusting and not putting it on paper.

Having said that, LL needs to fix the water leakage and the door ( what ever the problem is).

So send him a written message he has to fix these and give him a deadline. and put in writing that until it is fixed he is responsible to any damage to your property arising from the water leaking, and health risks due to mould and you will seek financial compensation . Also, put in writing that landlord will be responsible for any financial claim for any injury the door causes to you or anyone on your property, e.g. outside workmen etc.

[Sage]

Don't take it the wrong way, but the way you describe your situation is convoluted and difficult to understand. So perhaps your landlord misunderstood, too. Also, your own fault for being too trusting and not putting it on paper.

Having said that, LL needs to fix the water leakage and the door ( what ever the problem is).

So send him a written message he has to fix these and give him a deadline. and put in writing that until it is fixed he is responsible to any damage to your property arising from the water leaking, and health risks due to mould and you will seek financial compensation . Also, put in writing that landlord will be responsible for any financial claim for any injury the door causes to you or anyone on your property, e.g. outside workmen etc.

It is own fault he made himself easier to rip off? Well yeah he was naive, but he’s still a victim, and is still being taken advantage of