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Urgent landlord problem
. I am moving out of my old flat in Brussels. My contract says that there would be a third party inventory check on entry and exit, the cost of which would be shared between the landlord and the tenant. However, when I moved in the third party check was not done in my presence nor did I receive any reports of the same. But now when I am vacating the apartment my landlord brought the third party again without my consent and has asked me to pay 50% of the third party's fee. Moreover, the estimated damages cost is 683 euros. We have not made any major damages. Almost all of them are wear and tear like carpets not cleaned enough, tap too tight to be opened(which was like that from day1). The kitchen counter top has expanded at the edge as the water seeped in and was charged 300 euros.
He made us sign on the report of the third party" etst des lieux de sortie ", which includes the damages cost 683 euros + 50% of third party fee 266 euros. Please advice whether we should be paying this amount, as I strongly feel that he is trying to exploit our ignorance. If we don't pay this amount can he take any legal action against us?He threatened that he would take us to court
He does not know our new address. Can he send bailiffs after us?
Thanks for your time
avande
THANK YOU for your time it was a great help.
The first thing you should do is to demand a copy of the original entry EdL and see what it says. At the time you moved in and the EdL was made, you should have been given a copy and a chance to make changes/additions (at which time you should have reported the tap that did not open). If this was done it was a serious error made by the landlord/agency, and the fact that the entry EdL does not have your signature is definitely in your favour.
However, you have also made a really big mistake by signing the exit EdL. This document most likely has a sentence that states that by signing, the tenant fully agrees with all the findings of the expert, and agrees to pay the requested amount of damages. You say the landlord "made" you sign the document but you should never sign anything you do not 100 % understand and agree with.
Also, take a very close look at the exit EdL. If the landlord and agency have realized their mistake with the entry EdL (as they likely have), it is very possible that the exit EdL also contains a paragraph stating that even though your signature is not in the entry EdL, you now agree fully with also that document.
"If this was done" should of course be " If this was NOT done"....
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