Rental dispute and renovations: Legal advice

Questioner

My ex-partner and I rented a home for 21 years; I was listed as a co-tenant on the contract. In those years a bar between living room and kitchen was removed, a new kitchen built in. Tiles above the bath renewed by plain white which are continued to the ceiling. This instead of the flowered standard white/blue tiles with one meter of plasterwork above tiles to ceiling. I have been divorced since 2013; a new lease has been drawn up for me alone. When entering into this contract, no status report of the apartment was drawn up. Now I have terminated the lease as of February 28th; today the first inspection was carried out by the landlord. He wants me to put the bar back, remove part of the kitchen, remove the tiles and replace them with standard tiles and the one meter of plasterwork up to the ceiling. He dismisses the fact that there is no status record by saying that I have been renting since 1993 and that I must return the property to the state it was in 24 years ago. If I do not do this by 28 February, he will carry out the changes and charge me €5,000. Can he refer to the history of the previous contract, while there is no reference to the old one in the current contract. Only the remark that the deposit of an old contract has been taken over? Can the landlord refer back to the condition of the apartment in 1993 when drawing up the current lease without a drawn up statement of the rented property? Are these changes I need to make back or are they improvements to the home?

Lawyer

No nonsense, these are objective improvements or necessary replacement/repair. (which in fact should have taken place at the expense of the landlord) You may have a counterclaim for unjust enrichment. Otherwise, please contact us directly?

Questioner

I am not concerned about costs and counterclaims. In the first joint tenancy agreement, a certain status of the home was signed. That agreement was terminated. I entered into a new tenancy agreement, in which no status of the home was included. Can reference now be made to a status from the first contract? That is actually my question now. How do I know what I have to comply with if no initial situation has been drawn up when entering into the lease?

Lawyer

No, that is not allowed. You must meet the requirements set by law, and the landlord. In the case of a renovation, you should have asked for permission first. Without that, the landlord may demand that you return it to its original state, unless that is unfair. That is the case if it concerns objective improvement or if you have carried out work that the landlord should have done (such as re-tiling). That is why you may have a counterclaim. Moreover, without an initial condition, the landlord must prove that the condition as it is now is not the same as the initial condition (except for normal wear and tear and traces of use). As long as the landlord cannot do this, the property is deemed to have been delivered as at the start.

Questioner

The landlord did not draw up an initial statement for the new lease. What now?? Landlord believes that the initial statement of the first contract on which I was listed as a co-tenant is in force. Since I continued to live in the home and I entered into a new lease as an individual main tenant. Is that allowed??