Bad Tenant owner relationship,,HELP!!

Expat13 · #1 02-13-2009, 03:50 PM

I moved into a apartment in November 2008, at which time i was in a hotel so was unfortunately very anxious to get through the process.
I viewed it and negotiated price which was fine, but as it had been empty for months the power and water was shut off.
I mentioned that A/C, good functioning inversor and availability of hot water were mandatory. The owner and her legal assured me that this is essential and will all work.
After moving in it turned out that the hot water tank did not work, therfore no hot water. I was told by owner it would be corrected quickly. Also after 3 days and meeting some other people in the complex i was informed that this landlord has been known to be very unfair and dishonest to her tennants and never returns the 2 mth deposits.
After 5 days a unskilled worker came in to see the hot water tank and did nothing and realized it would need either replacing or send out for repair. Also after 1 week i noticed buzzing noises coming from the inversor as well the red warning light would come on. I am in Bella Vista where very few power outages so hard to properly guage the functioning of inversor. The owner said she would have inversor checked.Other than having a unskilled person clean battery terminals nothing else was done.Another time when the owner was present the inversor made the same sound and red light which seemed that it was ok.

Into my 3rd week of cold showers as no hot water the owner had a pot style mini water heater installed on shower heaD, this i saw was a 500 peso item from ferreteria.This bottle is ridiculuos as it seriously restricts what little water pressure that previously existed.Also it does not work properly as its either freezing cold or boiling hot, NO WARM, so very difficult showering process. She felt this was living up to her end and i was getting sick of the arguments as she is very difficult.
Now about 3 weeks ago the inversor stopped completely during a power outage of which I immediately reported.I was told someone would be there that day or the next. Noone came, but 4 days later when was rent collection day a worker came to inspect. He said it needed to be sent out for repair and he wanted 850 pesos for the re and re. I called owner and asked if she was paying and she said just pay him now to get him going. I did and deducted it from my rent that i paid that day. Well the owner went crazy saying it was my responsibilty to fix the inversor and i must have damaged it by plugging an iron in the kitched plugin of which previously i was never told not too. I only used an iron once in kitchen anyway so this was a ridiculous statement. I reminded her that previoulsy i reported the inversor difficulty and that she had witnessed it as well. She lied to my face and denied this happening. I was very frustrated and said i am not paying, here is your rent minus the 850peso.I do not want to pay 850 and admit fualt especially when a repair is needed.
Now after three weeks i still have no inversor and am told that it needs major repair and waiting for parts, I asked if she is paying to correct and she said we will talk, which with her means NO. Now my rent is due next week i still have a non functioning shower,and no inversor and a bad relationship where my owner constantly lies and blames me for deficiencies in a old neglected apartment.
I am 3 months into a year lease with 2 months deposit in her hands and a local friend has signed as guarantor....
Please advise what i should do as i now have noticed i pay 150usd /month more than the identical place downstairs. The place downstairs has all new furniture stove. fridge , full auto temp A/c and hot water throughout apartment. Far nicer!!!

mountainannie · #2 02-13-2009, 04:06 PM

The law in the DR is very favorable to tenants.

So-#1 get a lawyer. I don't know one but someone on this board can perhaps give you the name of one, or PM me and I will contact a friend who just went through another bad experience.

Then, #2, stop paying rent until you have gotten back your deposit, and/or she fixes things to your satisfaction. If you are a gringo, and if you are paying in dollars, make it clear to her that you are now talking to your lawyer, and that he will be in touch with her about breaking the lease- since she has not provided you with the things she was obliged to under the contract. Mention to her that she will, of course, with the current economic downturn, be left with an empty apartment.

Then you will have a few options- look for another apartment and move, or renegotiate the lease based on what you know are the actual conditions in the apartment - making the rent obviously much lower than the apartment beneath you or make the needed improvements on your own and deduct them from the rent.

#3 Contact your fiador and tell him what is going on, that you are contacting the attorney but that you are NOT reneging on the contract and that he should not be concerned if the landlady calls him. Give him the name of your attorney so that he can give it to her when she calls him.

You must prove that you are tougher than she is. This should not take much time.

Make it clear to her that all the attorney's charges are going to be DEDUCTED from her rent money, that you will simply stay in the apartment and use the rent money for your attorney's fees. So the harder she makes this on you, the less money she will get.

Take two aspirin.

Wash them down with Brugal.

Go for a walk on the Malecon.

Visit the Jardin Botanica.

Buy yourself some fresh avocados and flowers.

Thank God that you are not in Brooklyn.

Start checking out other apartments in other neighborhoods. Take your time....

Personally, I prefer Gazcue. Can't imagine why anyone would want to live anywhere else.

Expat13 · #3 02-13-2009, 04:53 PM

Great advice thanks. Already started on the Brugal.

One oncern I have regarding the holding back on rent is that the electricty is in the owners name and i pay her monthly for that as well.
Can she call Edesur and cut my power off?

mountainannie · #4 02-13-2009, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Expat13

Great advice thanks. Already started on the Brugal.

One oncern I have regarding the holding back on rent is that the electricty is in the owners name and i pay her monthly for that as well.
Can she call Edesur and cut my power off?

Just keep paying the bill on time...

She doesn't want you to leave. She just wants to do the least amount of work and get the most amount of money out of you.

The more times you pay the electric bill in her name, the better her credit rating is.

Sure, possibly, in the end - in a year or so -- if you want to drag it out that long and really do battle, she could do it.

But she wants you to stay. She just doesn't want to have to spend any of her money to make the apartment habitable.

LAWYER- first thing on Monday AM--

cuidate

MikeFisher · #5 02-13-2009, 07:33 PM

the above advice is good when you have a rental contract which states clear that you rebt an appartment with A/C, hot water, inversor aso aso.
if such is just based on words i would guess you will have a hard time to get anything fixed with a lawyer which just will cost you more extra money.
if you don't have that stuff written in a rental contract and you can not reach a 'agreement' with that owner to get that stuff working i would say look for an other place, stop paying the rent and live your 2 months deposit, let the owner know about that, write it down and inform that owner in written words about it, hand the paper over to the owner in front of witnesses.
good luck
Mike

senorblanco · #6 02-13-2009, 10:23 PM

Is your lease in English or Spanish?
Because if it is not in Spanish it ain't legal.
You can do whatever you need to do, pack up and find a nice place, and have a pleasant living arrangement.

MikeFisher · #7 02-14-2009, 12:15 AM

here i disagree,
a rental contract can be in english also and would be valid in front of dominican law. the meain point is:
is there a written contract or just promises made by words?
Mike

mountainannie · #8 02-14-2009, 06:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Expat13

Great advice thanks. Already started on the Brugal.

One oncern I have regarding the holding back on rent is that the electricty is in the owners name and i pay her monthly for that as well.
Can she call Edesur and cut my power off?

Get a copy of the bill and go to Edesur and pay them directly.

While the other advisors may be correct in the letter of law here, the facts on the ground are that a lawyer with a powerful voice can help you stand up to a landlady who is clearly abusive.

You already have enough to abrogate the lease,whatever language it is in.

Some Dominican landlords are the most abusive that I have ever met - they expect you to have a fiador, they expect you to be responsible for all the repairs inside the apartment, they spend the absolute minimum of money on their supposed "investments".
They do the minimum amount of work and expect the maximum rent.

Since there are lots of apartments on the market, there is no reason for you have to stay with an abusive landlord. A good lawyer can do wonders.

An "unfurnished rental" will not even include a stove or a fridge and often not even light fixtures. A "furnished" rental will often be filled with the cheapest furniture available, often broken down and dirty, a busted mattress. In other cases, it is a "storage area" for various old mismatched pieces and bad pieces of art.

I have been amazed at the places that I have seen and the prices that they are asking for them.

I would advise you - again- to get a lawyer, stop taking this sort of abuse, recover your deposits first, and look around.

There are lots of places on the market. And there is no reason to
assume that you are going to have a better time of it with this landlady in the future.

Expat13 · #9 02-14-2009, 09:15 AM

Thanks again everyone..

The sadest thing about this is I like the building and location, and just below me is an identical suite that is empty and as i mentioned is far better equipt and at least 125usd/month less money. The owners of this live in the building and are nice christian people and they will not rent to me only for fear of my current owner unleashing on them. My owner has been known for this in the past to be a bear to the others when tenants hear the reality of her actions. I believe a past tenant did the same and moved within the building and my owner constantly bothered the other owners about stealing her tenant.
So after 3 attempts they dont want to rent to me and would rather lose the rental income to avoid confrontation.
I am amazed at some of the business practises here.

catcherintherye · #10 02-14-2009, 10:45 AM

I believe a past tenant did the same and moved within the building and my owner constantly bothered the other owners about stealing her tenant.
So after 3 attempts they dont want to rent to me and would rather lose the rental income to avoid confrontation.
I am amazed at some of the business practises here.

All the more reason to get a lawyer. I agree with Mike, a good lawyer will be helpful if you have a contract no matter what the circumstances are. It sounds to me that you must have some kind of written contract.

Make getting a good lawyer your first priority. After the Brugal, that is, and stick with the Brugal if your contract is not written.