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Who pays for Etat des lieux?
Hi,
I am planning to move out of my appartment soon. As I know etat des lieux is done at the exit of tenant. My question is - who pays for this?
When I moved into appartment, few weeks/months later I received etat des lieux report with invoice to pay for it. I never paid because firstly I was not in the appartment at the moment of etat des lieux, secondly landlord never discussed it with me. I never paid the invoice and lived in the appartment for 4 years. Now I am moving out and I guess etat des lieux will be done at exit. Who should pay the invoice? Me or landlord? In my opinion the cost must be shared. Any advice on this?
Also, how does it normally work with rental guarantee? Can landlord withold some of it?
Thanks.
your fault if you were not in the property for the EdL d'entrée, but i seriously hope you went through the report and checked that what was stated was correct.
For the exit EdL you can either pay 50% of the bill if you share the expert with the landlord or each part employs his own expert and pay 100% of the bill.
the Expert will make a report with potential costs due to damages; once settled you both can sign the disclosure of the deposit.
There is a new law regarding l'etat des lieux. If a third party intervenes, all the costs are liable to the landlord.
In French
Avant de prendre possession du logement, le locataire doit établir un état des lieux avec le bailleur. La plupart du temps, cet état des lieux est établi à l'amiable par les deux parties.
Il est toutefois fréquent que le bailleur mandate un tiers, huissier ou agent immobilier, pour dresser cet état des lieux. Mais il est aussi parfois fréquent que le coût d'intervention de ce tiers soit pris en charge par les deux parties, voire même laissé à la charge du seul locataire.
Pour mettre un terme à cette pratique illégale, la loi du 22 décembre 2010 à modifié l'article l'article trois de la loi du 6 juillet 1989. Il est désormais clairement stipulé que « en cas d'intervention d'un tiers, les honoraires négociés ne sont laissés ni directement ni indirectement à la charge du locataire ».
Hello, Can you please confirm the belgium law on this? In my case, owner only insisting on Inventory for my new rental apartment. Does Tenant need to share or pay for this Inventory cost of external expert?
when i was renting as a tenant i did it with my landlord at no cost, it took 10 minutes, he was superhappy, paid my deposit and gave me a lift back to my workplace! needless to say that i left everything spotless and i took care of the place for the year I rented.
now i am in the reverse situation and judging from the way my tenant is keeping the property I DO want an third party expert to come and check the damages done or things to be fixed.
So very much depend from the relation you have and the type of tenant you are. Some landlords would be willing to do it without cost so it might be worth asking.
Neocon666 - are you certain that this new law applies in Belgium rather than in France?
Rental law is different in Bruxelles, Flanders, and Wallonia. Check check check.
Google will get you there.
Common sense stipulates that if an "expert" works for two partys s/he will favour the party who is likely to give them more work in future i.e. the landlord who will still be there through many future tenants.
So, if you want an "expert' to be 100% on your side, pay your own, to argue your case with the landlord of her/his "expert".
