# Our new villa rental



## carusel (Mar 14, 2015)

Good morning everyone! 

And so we have arrived here in Altea and are very much looking forward to our new life here on the Costa Blanca.

I am putting my question down to ignorance and naivety on my part.....big learning curve this move:

In short, our landlord sadly took ill prior to our arrival and the agent has been communicating with us. But not communicating very well as it happens and I am really keen to see if anyone out there can advise. 

We have been trying to set up a meeting to discuss a few points but with no success and perhaps it is because we have no rights so they are ignoring our request for a meeting or at the very least a phone call. A few examples of the points:

Aesthetics - house absolutely filthy, mattresses stained (we've rented furnished for 12mths), faulty sockets, wiring hanging, pool has thick layer of dirt at bottom; kitchen appliances not working. 

Utilities - nothing has been explained - how billing works. and we haven't been given a note of the meter readings they have recorded from the previous tenants departure. 

There are other things too but I didn't want to bore you. I really just wanted to get a flavour of whether or not this is the norm. Are we right to complain or should we just be getting on with it? 

Any help gratefully received. 

My thanks


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## Trubrit (Nov 24, 2010)

surely you did not sign a contract without viewing the property first? I viewed my property before signing a contract but since moving in nearly 2 years ago my landlord refuses to deal with any problems at all. I have dangerous electrics, patio door problems and only last week I had raw sewage entering my home. The landlords are abogados and just treat me with total contempt but I love my villa so I just keep paying out.


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

With so many rentals available ( in many areas) I wouldn't put up with such crap. Bottom line , renters market so either landlord sorts or you walk


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## carusel (Mar 14, 2015)

Hi there

Many thanks for such a prompt reply. 

Yes we saw the property before signing but there were tenants in and we didn't feel comfortable asking if we could look in detaiL. Hindsight is a great thing

Such a shame that we like you have a property we love but it comes with a few problems. Sure we can overcone. 

Thanks again.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Your contract should specify what is your responsibility and what is the Landlords. The agent should certainly help you out but sadly many are only interested in their commission and simply refuse to help. You could always have things fixed yourself - after all, you are living there - but keep all the receipts for work done. Do you pay your rent directly to the landlord or via the agent?


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## carusel (Mar 14, 2015)

Hi thrax
The contract is between us and the ower and he is now in hospital so we're not sure who we should be dealing with. It only leaves the agent really. 
We know swimming pool maintenance is our responsiblity but naively we thought it would be in usable condition on our arrival and thereafter we pay necessary charges.

Thank you again.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

If this property was found by you and shown via an agent, then despite the contract, he should take responsibity for making sure that both parties are happy - who is paying the agent???. So speak to them, demand that they come and explain all the points that concern you and what is to be done about it. If he doesnt, then threaten to pull out of the deal and find something else.

Jo xxx


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

jojo said:


> If this property was found by you and shown via an agent, then despite the contract, he should take responsibity for making sure that both parties are happy - who is paying the agent???. So speak to them, demand that they come and explain all the points that concern you and what is to be done about it. If he doesnt, then threaten to pull out of the deal and find something else.
> 
> Jo xxx


A lot of agents are only 'introducers' & have no on-going responsibility after the tenant moves in 

carusel needs to find out for sure exactly what the arrangement is - if the agent doesn't have a management contract with the owner, then the agent doesn't have to do anything at all, once the tenant has moved in


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

xabiachica said:


> A lot of agents are only 'introducers' & have no on-going responsibility after the tenant moves in
> 
> carusel needs to find out for sure exactly what the arrangement is - if the agent doesn't have a management contract with the owner, then the agent doesn't have to do anything at all, once the tenant has moved in



I know! Most agents are only introducers, but they do have the initial responsibilty of making sure that all parties are happy before they can walk away

Jo xxx


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

jojo said:


> I know! Most agents are only introducers, but they do have the initial responsibilty of making sure that all parties are happy before they can walk away
> 
> Jo xxx


not most, but a lot for sure

but no - if they are paid to simply introduce, then once the tenant is in & the contract in force between the tenant & owner - it's nothing to do with them

of course a _*good *_one would still try to help in this kind of situation - but they don't have to

as I said, carusel needs to find out what the arrangement is - certainly if the rent is paid via the agent there is responsibility there

if it isn't, then I certainly would be looking for somewhere else to live asap


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## dmret (Mar 12, 2013)

Absolutely


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

In the end you are living there so my advice would be to get everything sorted so that life for you is good. The pool is very easy to deal with and a good pool maintenance company will fix it for you for around €50 - €80 and after that you can take care of it. If you need advice on how to take care of it, this is as good a place as you will find for advice. If your pool is green and lots of 'dirt' on the bottom, you need to buy a slow release chlorine powder, put in the recommended amount (as stated on the chlorine bucket) and set the filter to circulation for 24 hours. After that you need to buy an anti algae liquid which you put in the pool and leave overnight. All of the algae and particulate will sink to the bottom. You then need to clean with the suction device and set the filter to waste. After that, the pool will be clean and you need only put in multifunction tabs in the skimmer to keep it clean. The tabs we use are known as 10 multifunction and the make is Colorma.


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## carusel (Mar 14, 2015)

Hi xabiachica, jojo and thrax
Thank you again so much for all your advice. 
I can say that I know the agent got half her commission from us and the remainder was to come from the owner on further payments from us. I also know she was keen for us to sign her contract but the owner was adamant that he had his own drawn up for us to sign. She assures us his one is far better for the tenant!!
I have received an email this morning from the agent asking us to pen out all the issues and send to her and she will in turn contact the owner. Still a little uncertain there because the agent had advised us that he was in intensive care....fingers crossed he is on the road to recovery. I doubt though he'll be in any state or indeed frame of mind to want to deal with his new tenants' complaints. 
Let's wait and see. 
thrax....great detailed response on pool maintenance. Just what we needed. Thank you. 
Thanks again everyone. This forum is absolutely brilliant.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

What kind of contract do you have? Is it for twelve months or longer? That's important as you have certain rights and cannot just be evicted on a landlord's whim.
Tenants in Spain have more 'real' power than landlords.


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## Justina (Jan 25, 2013)

*Tenants and their rights*



mrypg9 said:


> What kind of contract do you have? Is it for twelve months or longer? That's important as you have certain rights and cannot just be evicted on a landlord's whim.
> Tenants in Spain have more 'real' power than landlords.


Ha ha. Try getting your deposit back.


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## carusel (Mar 14, 2015)

Hi mrypg9

Our contract states 12 months.

Really pleased to say that today has been a step in the right direction. We had no electricity this moring and immediately feared the worst. Contacted the agent who in turn got the owner's handyman to come to us. He was able to explain that it was a road electric fault. He also asked if we had any issues, at which point I relayed in my basic Spanish, our areas of concern and he actually put some of them right today. Fingers crossed that this is the way forward. Just so very sad that the owner is showing no sign of improvement...deteriorating rather rapidly I understand. We are a little concerned about where this leads. 

Thank you so much again for posting here.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Justina said:


> Ha ha. Try getting your deposit back.


Simple. Don't pay the rent until you have regained your deposit. Our first rental here, a two bed piso, was a rip- off at €900 a month, two months deposit handed over which we knew we would never recover.
So we paid no rent for the last two months. What could the landlord, a rogue of the first order, do?
That's what I mean by tenants having some power here. Evicting someone takes time, costs money with no guarantee of recovering unpaid rent or recompense for damages.
As I'm sure Snikpoh will confirm.


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