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So remember a week ago when I was feeling totally stressed, and one of the reasons for that was because my landlord was not only snitty about me being late with the rent (the first time in over 16 years!) but he also said I would have to pay a percentage of the recent roof painting, amounting to about 400 euros? Then he said “not to worry” as he would divide it up so that I’d “just” be paying an extra 30 euros a month.
Well, this 30 euro a month thing keeps coming up, and I think this is Pepe’s way of finally getting me to pay it. What happened was back when I took this flat, and was also allowed to keep on the one I had moved out of (across the hall), I had a sit down meeting with Pepe one morning to discuss all this. I explained that renting the rooms next door, if I provided bedding, dishes, etc, would be like having flatmates to help me pay my rent (which is what I did for eight long years) only they’d all be living next door. No problem. And then we agreed on a price for the apartment I’d be moving into, so I was pretty surprised when I got the contract for it a couple of weeks later and it was for 30 euros more than we had agreed upon…
Pepe said not to worry, that the extra he added on was just “on paper” and that I would always pay 30 euros less. Huh? At the time I thought that was weird but then figured either his wife or daughters must have given him hell for giving me such a cheap rent (it really wasn’t, all things considered, but they probably thought so). This also meant that the yearly increases were based on a higher rent, but what the hell, he was also letting me sublet next door, so I didn’t quibble and just paid him 30 euros less a month.
And then Nog moved in and Pepe started with quips about how I wasn’t living alone anymore I could afford to pay that extra 30 euros that he had taken off my rent “as a favour”. Say what? I told him that wasn’t what happened but usually chose to ignore him whenever he brought that up – which he did a lot. And I didn’t even argue when he put up the rent up to 7-8% each year (the usual is 3-4%) factoring in some bizarre “contributions” thing that I know I shouldn’t have been paying since, you know, he was letting me sublet next door. Likewise when he made me pay for half a new washing machine. My contract says I am responsible for the maintenance of electrical appliances, though I don’t think this means I have to replace them once they’ve died, especially as they were all over ten years old when I moved in. And then he also made me pay half when my water heater rusted through, which I thought was totally unfair as this is basic equipment and not an electrical appliance, but I let it ride because – that’s right – he was letting me sublet next door.
But as of last July I am no longer subletting the apartment next door. I was served notice a couple of years ago that Pepe’s daughter was taking the apartment back for her own use – a few years ago Pepe “gave” each of his three daughters one apartment in the building in order to get some sort of tax break. But then I got sick and so they let me keep it on until this year. Fine. It was time to let it go anyhow.
Which brings us to this week and my huge argument with Pepe about not paying for the roof painting – enough is enough already. I mean, sure, my rent is a bit lower than market prices but I’ve lived here for 16 years and anyhow there’s no lift, no heating or airconditioning, the doors & windows are rotting away and don’t close properly … but I love my flat and especially all the light and the views.
So imagine my shock when I got home last night after a very long day (I attended a Top Chef competition – as Press!) to find there was a post office notice that I’d received a “buro-fax”. Well, the last time I received one of these was when the daughter served me papers to take back the apartment next door, so I went straight to Pepe’s and asked him if that’s what this buro-fax was all about, that he was going to kick me out. And he said they want me to leave at the end of my contract next March! I was stunned. I’m still in shock. And I have no idea what to do.
My friend Paco is a lawyer and is checking into rental laws today, though I know Pepe’s son-in-law is also a lawyer and probably feels sure about being about to get rid of me or they wouldn’t have sent the buro-fax. Which I’m not going to pick up – as long as I don’t sign for it I haven’t legally received notice. Meanwhile, I don’t actually have a contract anymore. My original one (for a year) gave me a five year option to stay, and somehow we never got round to making up a new contract. But I mean, WTF? Not only do I not want to move, but there’s no way I could afford to. I’m barely making ends meet as it is. And what if I have to go back on chemo in January? Oh, this is not helping my already stressed out situation at all…
casa azahar 
If you need any help at all with this please contact Myra at Costa Advice Bureau. She has a lot of experience in dealing with these situations. You may be surprised at what you are legally entitled to!
Just tell her Lisa recommended her services to you : )
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Hi Lisa – thanks! Will call Myra today.
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hmmm – I have never rented so don’t know what your entitlements are likely to be – plus obviously I have never lived in Spain. I do know that in the UK sitting tennants have quite a few rights, and for the kind of duration that you have been there, that has to count for something.
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Wow. I was not aware of the whole back story about the phantom 30 euros that was “just on paper” and the accounting fiddles that came from that.
I completely get the horror of having to move, even if it weren’t a financial crunch to do it. At the same time I’d actually like to see you dealing with an honest landlord who didn’t play head and money games. It’s his building and his job to maintain its major features, like roofs and appliances, and if it isn’t spelled out otherwise in a contract that states the amount he actually plans to collect from you, he’s a dick for billing you as he goes along. I hope you can get good legal backup that lets you proceed on your own terms, but I also hope you eventually can find someplace that you can live without this kind of jerk-around.
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I’m wondering, since my contract was never renewed after the first year, if any of those extra charges even apply to me. I pay about 15 euros a month for “community charges” as it is, for cleaning and maintaining the common areas (staircase, windows, entrance). But I am sure this doesn’t extend to things like repainting the roof and replacing basic equipment like water heaters.
Yes, when you own an apartment there is usually a fairly hefty community charge and then it is decided by a committee which repairs will be undertaken.
Yes, this billing as he goes along has been an ongoing thing. Every time the front door lock gets broken he charges everyone in the building, and otherwise nickels-and-dimes us. Yet the wood in the balcony doors is rotting away, the balcony railings are almost totally rusted through… then he spends money repainting the patio walls. I don’t get it.
And I’m pretty sure his 7-8% rent hikes were also illegal, not to mention that he isn’t declaring any income that I know of (a few years ago he asked me not to declare rent as a business expense when I had the clothing biz going).
Yet, I do love my place. And yeah, I might find somewhere else I also love, but in terms of landlords it often seems like a case of “better the devil you know”…
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OMG, I am so shocked to hear this. Your landlord is being an ass – something is very, very fishy.
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Best of luck with that one! Here’s hoping that it will get sorted out nicely {{{hug}}}
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Your life seems to be a bit of a rollercoaster ride at the moment … straight from being Press at a Top Chef event to what would seem to be the very real possibility of losing your home. I do hope you can get some good, solid, sound advice as to your current situation & how to proceed in order to achieve the best outcome. Give that brother of mine a nudge ( or two ) to get in touch!
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I know! It was so cool spending the day at this event and being Press – ha! Then my photographer friend Antonio and I went out for a drink at a tapas bar where the chef wants me to re-do the pics on my blog, so we arranged to do that on Wednesday (nice free lunch!) and I came home feeling quite good, only to find that stupid buro-fax. Needless to say I didn’t sleep much last night.
Meanwhile, if nudging your brother actually did any good I’d be nudging him to GET A JOB…
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I empathise!!
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Gosh, az, I’m so sorry. Here, it is up to the landlord to maintain the building, that’s what he gets the rent for after all. Hope it will all work out somehow.
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I was talking to my friend MariaPaz today, who has been renting out her mother’s apartment since she died, and she said it was ridiculous, that things like building repairs are totally the owner’s responsibility.
Now waiting to hear back from Myra, but when I spoke to her this morning she told me that I have nothing to worry about and that she actually felt sorry for my landlord. Sure hope she’s right!
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I keep my fingers crossed for you. Very sorry about all the hassle, though.
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Oh my, I am on the edge of my seat.
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HUG.
I wish I could do something, it’s very frustrating to hear of this and not know what the legalities are. All I can say is I’m thinking of you and I hope Myra can make it right! I say sic Maria Paz on him as well, she’s a good person and a good friend of yours.
Another HUG.
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Leopardess has very sharp pointy claws and a fierce temperament. I guess she and your frakass landlord in a narrow space could be …erm…interesting…
Where I live your frakass landlord probably would have lost custody of his building – there is a legal term for that – and may had to face time in prison.
Hope things will turn out the best.
*hugs*
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When I lived in New York, we experienced the “it’s only on paper” thing with our landlady. Because of New York’s “rent control” rules, if your rent isn’t raised in a certain number of years, your landlord can’t charge new tenants a higher rate. So “on paper” we were paying a higher rent than we were actually paying. It didn’t impact us because the landlady was okay about pretty much everything.
She WAS a little stingy with the heat in winter. At one point I asked her to turn the heat up because I was cold in the apartment and she said “That’s why I wear a hat and a jacket in my apartment.” I told her that I had no intention of wearing a hat and a jacket in my apartment when there was no reason for her not to turn the heat up. She did, grudgingly, but we got along just fine, even so. Probably because I was her only ally in her problems with the crazy broad upstairs.
I cannot believe that your landlord is doing this to you. I wish there was some way I could help you….
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This is just the kind of unpleasant mess you could do without. I hope you get a speedy resolution to it all.
(hug)
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Not very good news, I’m afraid. I haven’t heard back from Myra (I think I’m supposed to pay 95 euros for a membership before receiving advice, but of course I don’t have an extra 95 euros…) but my lawyer friend Paco came over this evening to look over my contract. He thinks that I can claim for expenses I shouldn’t have had to pay, but it looks like with two month’s notice Pepe can actually kick me out. Dammit.
More tomorrow… don’t want to think about this right now.
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Sorry to hear that he’s doing this to you. I do hope it all works out for the best.
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Really sorry to hear that your landlord is being such an arse about all this. However, the ‘better the devil you know’ adage sounds like it wouldn’t apply in this case since your situation with this landlord is already so bad, that probably a change of apartment and landlord would be a good thing in the end (although an awful hassle and expense in the actual moving).
Good luck and {{{hugs}}}
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Crap, I was hoping the advice bureau would be more help. Who the hell has 95 euros to cough up for advice when the advice they need is about being hounded for money? There has to be some midpoint between outright charity and extortion.
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Oh no, it’s not like that at all! In fact, Myra has been in touch since I last commented and we’ve exchanged a few emails. It just seems like there isn’t much that can be done.
The need isn’t exactly about being hounded for money. It’s really starting to look like Pepe has been looking for an excuse to kick me out and he knew I would never agree to this roof painting thing (as far as I know he hasn’t asked any of the other tenants to pay this). So it’s really about him wanting this apartment back so he can jack up the rent to a newcomer. So unfair. This man drives a snazzy Mercedes and has two other houses besides owning this entire building a stone’s throw from the cathedral. What the hell more does he want?
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Stress causes the body to release certain chemicals. Cortisol and adrenaline, which are normally issued in extreme situations.
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