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Problem with Landlord
Like many I've similar problem with landlord. I rented a property for 1 year and after 10 months, I requested to terminate the lease and he was OK with it, if he gets the rent on time. With his permission, I sublet the apartment and I moved to different apartment. On termination of lease, we went to see the apartment and it was in dirty condition. Dirty in the sense that it wasn't cleaned for a week or two. And of course there was normal wear and tear of the flat, stains on kitchen wall and dirty carpets. But my landlord made a huge cry out of it and shouted on top of his voice on how I have handled his apartment. He asked me to pay 3000 euro as damages. There was no expert opinion on the exit and he simply arm twisted(Threatened me to call cops and taking me to court) and took me to bank to close the rental guarantee(1800Euros)account on his name and and top of that asked me to pay rest in cash which I did. Now he is calling me again to pay some more damages.
I did accept his demands out of fear and now after reading a lot online, i think he took me for a toss. Can you please guide me on how I can get my money back. Please keep in mind, there was no l'état des lieux done during starting and termination of lease. Is there way I can fight and get my money back.
Oh dear, pretty much everything that can go wrong has gone wrong with this one. Your landlord is a piece of work and has behaved abysmally, but you have not done yourself any favours at all. Considering that it is your name on the lease and you are responsible for any damages, not the person you sublet to, why did you not go to the apartment on your own after your tenant left, and made sure that it was at least as clean as it can be? That already would have helped a lot.
Also, if the apartment was spotless when you moved in a year ago, then stains on the kitchen wall and dirty carpets are indeed damages, not normal wear and tear. So the kitchen wall may have to be repainted and the carpet professionally cleaned (or replaced).
However, as there was no entry inspection, the landlord really has no way of proving that the damage was caused during your one year in the apartment. And in any case, he cannot simply invent a figure like 3000 euros out of thin air, he has to give you proof what the repair works have cost.
Having said that, now that you have actually given him the money there is very little you can do any more. By agreeing with your signature to the release of the funds on the bank account, you have also agreed that the damages and the amount he is charging to fix them are correct.
You never ever ever should have given him any money. There was no way he was going to call the police on you. But now it's too late and this may just have to remain a lesson (a very expensive one) for you.
I think you should go to the police with this. He has extorted money from you by threatening you. That is criminal behaviour.
There's a good chance that the police will brush it off as a civil offense. If that happens, go and see a lawyer and get proper advice.
> no l'état des lieux done during starting
Legally, you therefore did not owe him a cent.
> Is there way I can fight and get my money back.
There are no guarantees when you go through the courts. Beware of throwing good money (lawyers fees) after bad.
And warn the other tenant,
in theory every bill presented to the tenant should be supported by an invoice or some kind of "decompte" by an official entity (like a syndic).
So for any request he already made or want to make request an official invoice or any proof of payment to an authorized trader (cleaner, painter, etc etc).
If you understand french have a look in Google for Code du Logement in the section for charges or ask for support at a tenant association.
you can find some links in this website:
http://www.xpats.com/lousy-landlords
also i guess you learnt that you should never sublet unless you know the people extremely well but you should always transfer the contract to the new tenant with written approval of the landlord
This is a Help line where you can get free legal advice (+32) 02 511 50 45. But they don't speak much English. You can also go and see them at their office.
Hi,
I can only suggest you get some advice from these organisations:
1. www.huurdersbond.be
016 25 05 14
2. SYNDICAT DES LOCATAIRES
Square Albert 1er,N° 32, 1070 Anderlecht, Belgium
+32 2 522 98 69
