Dampness in the bathroom, a fault in the electrical installation or a burst pipe are some of the most expensive problems to repair in a home. In the event that the house or apartment is rented, the question arises as to who pays for the repair and if, if the landlord pays, he can take advantage of it to raise the rent later.
Rental expert lawyer Alberto Sánchez, known on social networks as LegalMente, clarifies in one of his videos that “the law makes it very clear, if there are habitability problems in the rental home, the owner has to repair it.” The lawyer refers to article 21 of the Urban Leases Law (LAU), which establishes that the landlord is obliged to carry out, at his own expense, all the necessary repairs to keep the home in habitable conditions.
This includes humidity, failures in the electrical system, breakdowns in pipes and any other damage that affects the normal use of the home. The same article adds an express prohibition that many owners are unaware of, and that is that the rent cannot be increased for this reason.
What happens if the owner refuses to repair
Sánchez details in his video that the law does not set a specific deadline for the landlord to make the repairs. “Which means that you have to do it as soon as possible, within a reasonable time, from when you receive the notice that there is a breakdown,” explains the lawyer. The tenant, however, has the obligation to report the problem as soon as possible (something stated in section 3 of the same article 21 of the LAU) and to facilitate access to the home so that the owner or his technicians can verify the state of the damage.
Although the landlord has the obligation to take care of these repairs, there is an important exception contained in the law and of which Sánchez warns and that is that “the owner is not obliged to repair a damage to the home if it occurred due to the fault or negligence of the tenant.” That is, if the damage was caused by the tenant himself, whether due to misuse or carelessness, the cost of the repair corresponds to him and not the landlord.
The LAU also distinguishes between conservation works (paid by the owner) and small repairs resulting from wear and tear due to ordinary use, which are the responsibility of the tenant.
The risk of stopping paying rent as a measure of pressure
The lawyer issues a direct warning to tenants who consider stopping paying rent in response to the landlord’s refusal. “Don’t even think about stopping paying the rent because there is a defect, it is an automatic default and it could result in your rental contract being terminated and you being evicted,” Sánchez insists.
Non-payment of rent is cause for termination of the contract in accordance with the article 27.2.a) of the LAUregardless of whether the owner is failing to comply with his obligation to repair. The way to force a landlord who refuses to act is, according to the lawyer, judicially. “Really the only way to force him, if an agreement is not reached, is through the courts,” he says.
And there is a practical tip that Sánchez recommends to avoid these conflicts is to add a clause in the rental contract that establishes an economic threshold (for example, 150 euros) below which any repair is assumed by the tenant and above which it is paid by the owner. The amount can be “whatever the parties want,” says the lawyer.