Renting query

[Anglian]

We've rented three houses here over the years and on each occasion we had a problem the the house the landlord promptly fixed it, my daughter has now flown the nest, and rented a property in Bintara which she has turned into a shop selling young children's clothes, this is with the agreement of the landlady, unfortunately she has encountered several problems like septic tank full, having to buy a new toile, roof leaking, al of which my daughter has had to pay for, even to the point were my daughter wanted 3 nail and the women charged here 2000rp,( got a box full) I had almost forcibly stopped, going to give her a bule earful, anyway after all that rant, where does one stand legally, is the landlady liable or my daughter for any genuine repairs, she paid no deposit

 

[Puspawarna]

What does the lease say? In the leases I have had, there is usually some amount specified under which the renter is responsible for the cost of repairs, and over which the landlord pays.

There is also sometimes a provision saying that the renter is occupying the place "as is."

 

[Anglian]

Thanks Puspawarna I'll get my daughter to check it out, she didn't have to pay a deposit,

 

[Smallworld]

I don't think you should pay or do those jobs (I wouldn't). This should be a part of agreement before the rental contract was sign on. Eg. You should maybe say: I will move in under the condition this and that will be fixed before end of week/month. There is nothing signed on that moment. If the landlord will refuse ... you move on. There are plenty houses on the market.

Or if the landlord insists you have to pay/fix and you are "charmed" by the property and cannot resist to live there. You should then negotiate that all the fix costs will be done by you and deducted from the rental monthly charge. Eg. Fixing cost 20 jt, rent 120 jt - you pay only 100 jt.

 

[Anglian]

Well I think my daughter was a bit green, the owner has a shop selling building materials, etc, so a few problems were "fixed" supposedly the leaking roof, partially done, toilet stopped working, septic tank full, so some work not really completed, the so called workman did have the IQ of a headless chicken, I've never met such a plonker, so we used a chap we know and he sorted some things out at my daughters expense, the landlady doesn't want to know about anything, all the lease says is anything changed has to be refitted, i.e. Knock a wall down replace, nothing about anything going wrong, so I suppose my daughter has to bite the bullet and put it down to experience, but anything she changes like the toilet she will take the one she bought and put the old one back, not much she can do about the septic tank, but thanks for your input Puspawarna and SmallWorld

 

[HappyMan]

Well I think my daughter was a bit green, the owner has a shop selling building materials, etc, so a few problems were "fixed" supposedly the leaking roof, partially done, toilet stopped working, septic tank full, so some work not really completed, the so called workman did have the IQ of a headless chicken, I've never met such a plonker, so we used a chap we know and he sorted some things out at my daughters expense, the landlady doesn't want to know about anything, all the lease says is anything changed has to be refitted, i.e. Knock a wall down replace, nothing about anything going wrong, so I suppose my daughter has to bite the bullet and put it down to experience, but anything she changes like the toilet she will take the one she bought and put the old one back, not much she can do about the septic tank, but thanks for your input Puspawarna and SmallWorld

You guys can also be sure not to leave anything of value there for the landlord when the lease is up. The F-I-L is always like a kid on Christmas when people go, going into the property to see what sort of things the renters have left behind. A bank once left him an entire office worth of furniture. He has collected and given away quite a few ACs over the years, lots of sofas, beds, tables, chairs, etc. Perhaps they will be disappointed to find the broken toilet and nothing else.

 

[macvert]

the only thing I'd be leaving behind would be a bag of cement tipped down all the drain pipes

 

[HappyMan]

the only thing I'd be leaving behind would be a bag of cement tipped down all the drain pipes

If you did want to be naughty, you could be a bit more subtle that that. I once heard of a guy who went and got a board full of termites and left it in the roof, for example... course, I think one might be liable for such actions. Aside from that, it seems like an unfair rate of return for the problems caused, 2-for-1 sale on eyes...

 

[macvert]

If you did want to be naughty, you could be a bit more subtle that that. I once heard of a guy who went and got a board full of termites and left it in the roof, for example... course, I think one might be liable for such actions. Aside from that, it seems like an unfair rate of return for the problems caused, 2-for-1 sale on eyes...

apparently termites don't operate in that way, once they are separated from the nest they're lost & will die. I'm led to believe they establish new nests by either extensions of an older colony via a queen ant or they do a fly in once they reach that part of their life cycle ... something along those lines but you can't just pick up an infested lump of wood, transfer it somewhere & then expect them to go on doing their thing.

You're right though about being liable, unless maybe you act dumb & say you thought the white cement was caustic soda to clean the drains.

 

[HappyMan]

apparently termites don't operate in that way, once they are separated from the nest they're lost & will die. I'm led to believe they establish new nests by either extensions of an older colony via a queen ant or they do a fly in once they reach that part of their life cycle ... something along those lines but you can't just pick up an infested lump of wood, transfer it somewhere & then expect them to go on doing their thing.

You're right though about being liable, unless maybe you act dumb & say you thought the white cement was caustic soda to clean the drains.

I believe that depends on the type of termites, though, I've never tried it. My neighbor in the States told me that... perhaps it was a subtle hint that I should lend him more beer money.

 

[Anglian]

the only thing I'd be leaving behind would be a bag of cement tipped down all the drain pipes

Funny you should mention cement, the shower drain had quite a bit of cement in it, needed some attention, my daughter will make sure anything bought to replace a defective item will be refitted, like the toilet, also if the roof leaks she will just put a tarpaulin on the roof and take it when she goes, she will leave the termites in the garage roof

 

[Smallworld]

Anglian you can already say to you daughter to start looking for next property. So she doesn't have to do it at the last moment and also your daughter can learn dealing with agents/landlords and how the rental properties business works in Indonesia. By doing this she will also explore local area. Who knows maybe she will find something more interesting and cheaper. Besides she will know which properties stay not occupied and which one are rented out.

 

[Anglian]

Hi SmallWorld, my daughter has a small shop selling branded kids clothes which is doing very well in the area she is at present, she's got about 9 months to go, so she may start looking a bit further on, so hopefully she won't have anymore problems with the landlady or the house, but thanks everyone for your input, very helpful