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Questioner
We have had a house in Northern Italy since 2011 that we rent out to guests in the summer. We recruit tenants via rental websites on the internet and on these we get tenants from all over the world. Up until now we have received mainly good and positive reactions to our house. This summer the house was rented to a family from Germany. The run-up to this rental was somewhat difficult. After they had received all the information from us, they asked us again for this information, after which it turned out that they had received it, but had not read it. They had to be reminded twice for the second term of the payment of their rent. When they asked if they could check in earlier, we cooperated and brought the time forward by three hours. Upon arrival they complained that the beds had not yet been made, however this was one of the consequences of checking in early, the bed linen had not yet arrived, however this was arranged well before the official check-in time. The second day they left the house. Only after they had left did they inform us about this, stating that they were very dissatisfied, the house was filthy, there was mold on the walls, there was glass everywhere on the floor and the wall sockets were not childproof. They supposedly documented all this with photos. They explicitly did NOT allow us to have their complaints assessed on site by our manager and if these complaints were justified, to rectify them. The only positive thing they could report was the breakfast that we had organized for them and provided by third parties, however they did not pay the costs for the breakfast to the hostess. We would still hear from their lawyer. We asked our manager to inspect the house, he reported back that the house was completely clean and there was no glass anywhere. Wall sockets in Italy (just like in the Netherlands, in Germany?) are not childproof as standard, so we do not understand this part of the complaint at all. We sent a message back that we were sorry that they did not like the house and that we would do our utmost to rent it out again during that period. Unfortunately, we only succeeded partially, but we were still able to refund 25% of their rental fee. This week we received a letter from their German lawyer demanding compensation (rent, kilometers driven and legal costs). There is no contract, but we have well documented all correspondence. We believe that we have fulfilled all our obligations: Provided good information and made our home available. We feel extra strengthened by the praise for this home from the tenants who had rented the house directly for these guests. Our questions now are: - What is the legal scope of such a letter? (Claimant lives in Germany, we live in the Netherlands and the property is in Italy) - Haven't we already done (more than) enough by giving them the net proceeds from the period in which we were still able to rent out the house?Lawyer
Since nothing has been arranged in the contract (because there is one) regarding the regime applicable to conflicts, that will be the Italian one because the house that is rented is on Italian grounds. Now that law will not deviate too much so I dare to say something about it, namely that the tenant should have explicitly explained 'child-safe' because possible misunderstandings could have arisen about it and that furthermore no complaint was filed upon delivery so that, and that is the most important, they have waived any claim in connection with that. The compensation of the costs seems premature to me because I assume that they continued the holiday elsewhere and the legal costs are initially for their own account. So all in all, reject the claim.Lawyer
I think Dutch law can also apply because Dutch people have provided the specific service - especially if not only the cottage is rented but also (among other things?) breakfast is organized. In any case, German law does not apply. I will ask the lawyer for a legal explanation stating the applicable law.Neem de volgende stap
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