Question for renters.

[Oatmeal]

Hello. Currently renting a house. I have a couple of issues since I took ownership of the house. Main issue with the AC unit (not working well) and also the lock on some sliding doors (not functioning). There are other issues lower priority. The door not locking is a security issue. I have asked my landlord but he is extremely unreliable and doesn't/hasn't done anything. He has asked 'ME' to find someone. There were issues in the past, which we fixed ourselves. At that time, he promised to send someone but basically not followup so we got tired of waiting and did it ourselves. Best way to discribe him, he is forgetful. This time however, we don't want to search because we do not want to get stuck with the bill which we have no confidence he would pay us back.

The reason we don't trust him? He tried to have us pay his whole expensas bill directly to the city rather than we pay our part. Since you can't pay a portion of the bill to only a specific part, he thought it would be better we pay the whole thing. (assuming he pays us back later). He was behind a few months and we were scared the services would be cut off as we got a warning. We now pay him our part to his mercado pago monthly.

What can I do to push him to resolve these issues quickly? I'm debating to contacting my original real estate agent but not sure if that would help. Thanks.

 

[BuySellBA]

Hello. Currently renting a house. I have a couple of issues since I took ownership of the house. Main issue with the AC unit (not working well) and also the lock on some sliding doors (not functioning). There are other issues lower priority. The door not locking is a security issue. I have asked my landlord but he is extremely unreliable and doesn't/hasn't done anything. He has asked 'ME' to find someone. There were issues in the past, which we fixed ourselves. At that time, he promised to send someone but basically not followup so we got tired of waiting and did it ourselves. This time however, we don't want to search because we do not want to get stuck with the bill which we have no confidence he would pay us back.

The reason we don't trist him. He tried to have us pay his whole expensas bill directly to the city rather than we pay our part. Since you pay a portion of the bill to only a specific part, he thought it would be better we pay the whole thing. He was behind a few months and we were scared the services would be cut off as we got a warning. We now send mercado pago monthly.

What can I do to push him to resolve these issues quickly? I'm debating to contacting my original real estate agent but not sure if that would help. Thanks.

What does your rental contract state? Does it specifically mention who pays for issues when they malfunction? Any reputable owner would pay to fix these things but locals are notoriously bad for fixing things like this.

Do you pay your owner each month? Or did you pre-pay in advance? Many owners drag their feet on fixing things. There should be clear language in the rental contract that states who is responsible. But even if you have this in the contract, with an unethical owner and prepaying in advance you are stuck. You could send them a Carta documento which is a legal notice informing him of his obligation. That is what most people do and that usually makes them take action but it's a bad relationship from the start. Not sure how long your lease is.

 

[Betsy Ross]

Hello. Currently renting a house. I have a couple of issues since I took ownership of the house. Main issue with the AC unit (not working well) and also the lock on some sliding doors (not functioning). There are other issues lower priority. The door not locking is a security issue. I have asked my landlord but he is extremely unreliable and doesn't/hasn't done anything. He has asked 'ME' to find someone. There were issues in the past, which we fixed ourselves. At that time, he promised to send someone but basically not followup so we got tired of waiting and did it ourselves. Best way to discribe him, he is forgetful. This time however, we don't want to search because we do not want to get stuck with the bill which we have no confidence he would pay us back.

The reason we don't trust him? He tried to have us pay his whole expensas bill directly to the city rather than we pay our part. Since you can't pay a portion of the bill to only a specific part, he thought it would be better we pay the whole thing. (assuming he pays us back later). He was behind a few months and we were scared the services would be cut off as we got a warning. We now pay him our part to his mercado pago monthly.

What can I do to push him to resolve these issues quickly? I'm debating to contacting my original real estate agent but not sure if that would help. Thanks.

I had these same types of issues in my long term rental with both previous owners that I was renting with. Were the AC units working when you moved in? It is very important to check everything to make sure they are working. But even if they were working and then stop working, many owners won't pay for that unless it is specifically mentioned in the rental contract. I had a long term 2 year lease before I bought my condo. They refused to buy new split units. They said it was working when I moved in and would not replace them so I had to buy it but I took it out when I moved. Luckily my friend let me store the old AC as I had to have it installed again. A pain but I wasn't going to give the owner of the property a new AC!

I am not sure how long your lease is @Oatmeal but many owners are hopelessly unethical. They won't fix it until you just fix it yourself and then never reimburse. If you are paying month to month you could subtract it but I had to prepay my entire lease upfront.

Make sure on a rental contract it all is spelled out in detail who takes care of issues and who pays for it and if the owner doesn't in X days then they agree to allow you to. Get receipts for everything. Always just pay the owner directly and have him get a receipt vs. paying it to the city. You can contact your realtor. You paid them a fee and they should help you resolve it.

Just like @BuySellBA mentioned, I had to send a carta document threatening to sue when a few times there were major issues. I had similar issues when I rented from another Porteño. I got tired of all of the hassles of renting and bought my own place and have been very happy since then.

 

[Oatmeal]

What does your rental contract state? Does it specifically mention who pays for issues when they malfunction? Any reputable owner would pay to fix these things but locals are notoriously bad for fixing things like this.

Do you pay your owner each month? Or did you pre-pay in advance? Many owners drag their feet on fixing things. There should be clear language in the rental contract that states who is responsible. But even if you have this in the contract, with an unethical owner and prepaying in advance you are stuck. You could send them a Carta documento which is a legal notice informing him of his obligation. That is what most people do and that usually makes them take action but it's a bad relationship from the start. Not sure how long your lease is.

Hi. In the contract, the landlord lessor pays for repairs. Urgent is 24 hours and non-urgent is 10 days. We paid advance payment of 15 months on a 2 year contract. Is there some government/rental protection agency that can help? What is after the formal notice? I am not sure if the letter will help when they can simply ignore. Thanks

 

[Vince]

Hi. In the contract, the landlord lessor pays for repairs. Urgent is 24 hours and non-urgent is 10 days. We paid advance payment of 15 months on a 2 year contract. Is there some government/rental protection agency that can help? What is after the formal notice? I am not sure if the letter will help when they can simply ignore. Thanks

It is good you have things specified in your contract. First contact the realtor that you paid to do the contract. They will contact the owner. It's not so much the realtor has any power but more so that the owner will now you are not happy. The legal letter is also not so much that it will force action but puts the owner on notice that he is breaking terms of the contract. Also, you are leaving a paper trail documenting that he is breaking terms of the lease. You should do the Carta documento ASAP and do one for each time he is breaking the terms of the lease.

In fact, you should tell the realtor that you will send a carta documento and you are hoping to avoid that and just have the owner follow the terms of the lease. But tell the realtor you will be forced to if the owner doesn't address the problem. You still sound like you have a long period on your lease and you need to set the tone that you're not going to be pushed around.

 

[Wally]

All great advice above. Follow the advice from @Vince !

Contacting the realtor first is not a bad idea and gives the owner a chance that you tried to resolve it without sending a legal notice first. Vince is right you have a long time on the lease and for sure things will go wrong. Keep a documented case and the cartas are a good way to document it. I also had problems like this when I was in a long term lease before I bought my place. I paid 6 months in advance and same kind of BS. Broken lock, broken AC, broken heater.

On my first CD I mentioned that any repairs I would subtract from payments after month 6 and that is exactly what I did. The owner was difficult but having the documented CD's protected me if he tried to cheat me. We just ended up sending him a chance to fix things but he never did and told us to use our own person and we kept track of the bills. Just keep documentation and make sure the prices being charged are fair.

But you have to nip this in the bud while you are near the beginning of your lease.

 

[David]

Great advice above. I wish I did that earlier. I had serious issues with a rental. That is the beauty of renting through Airbnb instead of locals that make you prepay the lease. Airbnb only pays the owners each month on long term leases.

The advice to start a paper trail is good. The court system here is terrible however. But at least you did not pay the entire lease period. I have found the best for long term leases seem to be foreign owners as they fix things quickly or allow you to.

 

[Oatmeal]

It is good you have things specified in your contract. First contact the realtor that you paid to do the contract. They will contact the owner. It's not so much the realtor has any power but more so that the owner will now you are not happy. The legal letter is also not so much that it will force action but puts the owner on notice that he is breaking terms of the contract. Also, you are leaving a paper trail documenting that he is breaking terms of the lease. You should do the Carta documento ASAP and do one for each time he is breaking the terms of the lease.

In fact, you should tell the realtor that you will send a carta documento and you are hoping to avoid that and just have the owner follow the terms of the lease. But tell the realtor you will be forced to if the owner doesn't address the problem. You still sound like you have a long period on your lease and you need to set the tone that you're not going to be pushed around.

Could you explain what is a "Carta documento"? Is there a template? Is this simply a document stating my issues that need to be fixed and notarized?

 

[David]

Could you explain what is a "Carta documento"? Is there a template? Is this simply a document stating my issues that need to be fixed and notarized?

Probably good to try with the realtor first and specifically tell them if it's not fixed within X days you will send a Carta documento.
A CD is a formal letter that acts sort of a registered and certified mail. Owners take these more serious because they can be used in a judicial proceeding in the future.

I'm not sure if it is the same but I sent one through the Correo Argentino post office. They can do it. A CD is just sort of a formal letter. It's all traceable. The post office sucks here but one thing that works well is the CD system. The owner can't say they didn't get it because it is trackable. It usually has 3 copies (1 for the owner, 1 for the post office and one for you/sender).

You can just put what you are claiming. The CD is really a formal warning letter of potential legal action or that some action needs to be taken on a specific issue. Just think of it as a registered letter @Oatmeal.

 

[import export]

Could you explain what is a "Carta documento"? Is there a template? Is this simply a document stating my issues that need to be fixed and notarized?

All fantastic advice above. @Oatmeal this article might be helpful for you. I have had to send them in business disputes and it was the one thing that caused resolution. People when they get one know you are serious. It looks like this below. Just make sure you have someone fluent in Spanish that can help you write it up. Be clear and articulate all the points you want to make. It helps if you leave exact dates, issues, etc.

You could even include in it a warning that if this happens again in the future this is official notice that if the owner ignores the problem that you will keep the invoices and subtract it from your first payment you need to make after month 15.

Cómo hacer una carta documento

Debe contar con una firma y constancia del remitente para asegurar la recepción del paquete.

www.clarin.com

 

[Vero]

Just be aware that sending a CD is a bit harsh so you shouldn't just send one until you exhausted options. It can be bumpy if you send this on the first issue but it sounds like you have already had several incidents @Oatmeal.

It is very easy to send. Costs about 15,250 pesos to send. It usually takes 1-2 days for delivery.

 

[earlyretirement]

I agree with the others it is a good step to try first with the realtor. That realtor made 1 month rent probably for not doing too much work. You should ask them to convey to the owner. And you can tell the realtor of course you will use them on your next rental (even if you won't) but try to get them to effectively communicate with the owner that you are not being unreasonable and you only want what is reasonable and give the circumstances of the complaint . Also, have the realtor warn that reluctantly you will send a CD if it can't be resolved.

Just keep in mind that many owners might not care. Even if they get a carta documento. The judicial system doesn't really work in Argentina. It is really terrible. They have no concept of repeat business and many locals try to extract the most they can out of you. So don't expect miracles just by sending a CD.

In my 22+ years in Argentina for the most part, I've found owners to be very difficult. That has always been a plus for me as a property owner because just don't the right thing has enabled me to get tons of repeat business with people over and over for 20+ years.

 

[Oatmeal]

All fantastic advice above. @Oatmeal this article might be helpful for you. I have had to send them in business disputes and it was the one thing that caused resolution. People when they get one know you are serious. It looks like this below. Just make sure you have someone fluent in Spanish that can help you write it up. Be clear and articulate all the points you want to make. It helps if you leave exact dates, issues, etc.

You could even include in it a warning that if this happens again in the future this is official notice that if the owner ignores the problem that you will keep the invoices and subtract it from your first payment you need to make after month 15.

Cómo hacer una carta documento

Debe contar con una firma y constancia del remitente para asegurar la recepción del paquete.

www.clarin.com

View attachment 8060

This is helpful thank you.

 

[Oatmeal]

I will take everyone's advice and try to work with the landlord, if not I pay for this and deduct on the balance owing. However, if this is the way he behaves, its going to be a pain to get my deposit (2 months) and remind him that he agreed to deduct from the 9 months owning on the contract.

 

[Oatmeal]

They have no concept of repeat business and many locals try to extract the most they can out of you. So don't expect miracles just by sending a CD.

In my 22+ years in Argentina for the most part, I've found owners to be very difficult.

arggghh. I hate that.

 

[Digital Nomad]

arggghh. I hate that.

This is my experience here too in BA. I don't understand why people don't just provide a great experience so you will rent with them for a long period of time but everyone is just thinking about making money today. I hate that about Argentina.

Nothing seen anything like it.

 

[Betsy Ross]

This is my experience here too in BA. I don't understand why people don't just provide a great experience so you will rent with them for a long period of time but everyone is just thinking about making money today. I hate that about Argentina.

Nothing seen anything like it.

Agree. I have been here a long time and it is always the same story. Everyone stabbing one another in the back for a buck.

 

[Oatmeal]

Agree. I have been here a long time and it is always the same story. Everyone stabbing one another in the back for a buck.

We spent 4 years in Colombia. Sadly I have a lifetime of stories.

 

[Vince]

We spent 4 years in Colombia. Sadly I have a lifetime of stories.

Sadly I think this happens all over Latin America but I think it happens more in Argentina because the economy is so unpredictable. Is it better or worse in Colombia @Oatmeal?