Liability of Housing Association - Legal Aid Office

Questioner

I am a tenant of a home owned by a housing association. I have a rotten floor (beam), this is probably caused by gradually working (weather) influences. (rotting process) I have a glued laminate floor, this is not reimbursed by my home contents insurance. Can I hold the housing association liable? The housing association says that we have to pay for this ourselves.

Lawyer

You can indeed hold the housing association liable for this damage. If necessary, you can file a complaint with their complaints committee. If you want help with this, you can contact them.

Lawyer

The damage to your laminate concerns consequential damage. This damage was caused by a defect in the rented property, namely the rotten floor (beam). Consequential damage is not always the responsibility of your landlord. The landlord's liability for consequential damage is regulated in article 7:208 BW. The landlord is liable for consequential damage if the defect occurred after the agreement was entered into and is attributable to him. The defect can be attributed to the landlord if it is the result of insufficient maintenance or because the landlord refuses to remedy the defect after you have reported the defect to the landlord. The landlord is also liable if the defect was (already) present when the lease agreement was entered into and the landlord knew or should have known about it at the time, or informed the tenant at the time that the item did not have the defect. The burden of proof lies with the tenant. You will therefore have to prove that the defect arose after the lease agreement was entered into, that you informed your landlord of the defect and that your landlord subsequently did nothing to remedy the defect or that the defect already existed at the start of the lease agreement and that your landlord knew or should have known this. The latter is of course difficult to prove. I do not know how high your damages are, but it may be worth it to get legal assistance to have the matter looked at. You can always contact me without obligation if you have any questions.

Questioner

The defect arose after the lease agreement was entered into. I have lived here since 1993. The landlord had sent a contractor to make a visible hatch? in the room? to take a look. It is a rotting process under the floor, you cannot see this, but now you can because the floor has sunk 15 cm.

Lawyer

What you indicate is all the more reason to hold the landlord liable.