Landlord/Rent Issues- Structural Repair

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  1. #1

    Landlord/Rent Issues- Structural Repair

    Hello everyone, and sorry if this is not the right forum! I'm not sure where this question should go.

    Basically I rented an apartment in HK and the contract began in December 2010. We noticed slowly that in the 2nd bedroom the wall was starting to peel, and was damp. This gradually got worse and worse and as the wall was shared with the bathroom sink, we believed a water pipe was leaking.

    We called the landlord who advised that this is an issue which has previously been noticed. They ended up asking us to remove some of the furniture from the room, as they were going to drill through the wall, remove the concrete and take a look at the pipes.

    We duly allowed this (the remainder of the furniture they covered). It turns out they could not fix the pipe and had to install a new water pipe. They installed a new water pipe through installing scaffolding on the outside of the bathroom wall (going through the bathroom window in the shower to do this). They then eventually concreted the wall back (using an electric fan to dry it quicker- leaving it on for hours and therefore increasing our electricity bill) and then painted over the wall.

    The whole process took around 3 weeks and interrupted my time as I work from home, and additionally, make the flat a mess (their attempts to cover the furniture also did not work and there was dirt, and particles of 'wall' everywhere).

    The landlord refuses to reduce the rent for this period, which is unfair as the tenancy agreement states that the landlord is responsible for structural repair and as a tenant we should of course be entitled to the full useage of the flat. We pay rent on the basis that the full flat is available to us.

    Additionally, this was a problem they were previously aware of, so it is not like it is something which was not present before we moved in.

    Do we have any rights to withhold rent based on the unuseable period (although note our bathroom was a mess, and there is a huge patch of concrete where a tile should be as they drilled through the bathroom wall too) and the unuseable spare room? If we were not a couple, and were co-sharers, one whole bedroom would be unuseable. Note that bedroom is actually used as a study, as I tend to work from home for half the day (and was forced to work through noise and the work).

    To be fair, the landlord did try to push the work along, and the landlord's father obtained our key to be there for the workers when we were not able to be present to let them in. But it still is not fair that we had no access to the spare room and had to live with our stuff sprawled all over the living room when it was a problem they should have sorted out earlier.

    Does anyone have any ideas how to resolve this issue?

    Thanks

    Last edited by hongkongperson; 16-06-2011 at 04:37 PM.

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Posts
    2,254

    It sounds like there was a problem with a water pipe and the landlord did the right thing and sorted it out as quickly as possible. Not sure what further needs to happen. Maybe buy the landlord a beer next time you see him?


  3. #3

    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Gold Coast Marina
    Posts
    17,862

    small claims court?

    but honestly, while I understand your problem, I think you should just suck it up and move on. At least they fixed the problem.


  4. #4

    agree with moving, let it go and get back to your routine


  5. #5

    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Posts
    773

    Your landlord is responsible for structural repairs. However, these repairs would have to be carried out by a contractor, for which he has no control. It appears that he helped to the best of his abilities.

    From your explanation of the problem, it seemed like a pretty major issue. I would say you're extremely lucky it was fixed in 3 weeks (it took my landlord 2 weeks just to fix a faulty shower head). Just hope nothing else happens and move on, I doubt even the small claims court woudl find him in breach of contract.


  6. #6

    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    4,689

    did you take out renter's insurance?
    you can always for compensation but getting it is another matter.
    what does it say on your contract/agreement?
    how well did you document the repair process?


  7. #7

    Thank you everyone.

    I do agree they did try to move it along; however, I'm not sure who actually pays for the water pipes. Is it an issue that the whole building (i.e. all the owners) are responsible for, or just the landlord?

    Additionally, what if we used that room to sleep in? We are currently not 'together' and so that room was actually to have been used as a bedroom.

    I just think it's a bit unfair that the full flat was not useable AND they knew of the problem BEFORE we moved in- when the flat had been vacant for a bit already. I think the key point being they knew of the problem before.

    Thanks


  8. #8

    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Posts
    7,390

    If you feel this strongly about it you should outline your issues in writing and see if you can get something resolved.

    Also, this might be out of place to say but could you be 'kind of' taking it out on the landlord as your relationship is a bit rocky? It might not be true and you can tell me to go F yourself which is OK.


  9. #9

    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Sai Kung
    Posts
    8,556

    i think you are asking for an awful lot. you had a problem. you informed the l/l. the l/l had it fixed as quickly as possible.

    if you don't already have a rocky relationship with the l/l, you will certainly have one after this if you proceed...as you've just started your lease and presumably have another 18 months left, that might not be the smartest thing to do.

    yes, it was inconvenient. but that is all it was... inconvenient. it's not like the tub fell through the floor or something like that.... really, pushing too far.


  10. #10

    Thanks everyone again.

    No, not taking out any 'rocky' relationship issues on the landlord. We're very amicable, but perhaps we just don't work like that (or perhaps we just need to work on how we communicate). Either way, it's not really that which is an issue, it's more so that really there was a lot of work done which should have been done before we moved in. I'm not at all angry at the landlord or in general.

    Our theory is that they will bump the rent up massively come December time (i.e. after the 1 year is up), so we may as well try to get the discount now as we were put out and it is a 2 bedroomed flat which could have had co-sharers. We have heard of landlords in our area doubling the rent after the first year so we are very put out by this thought as rents just keep climbing.

    But, if everyone thinks it is a bad move, then fair enough. Of course we are only trying to reduce our (extortionate) rent as much as possible!!!


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