Legal assistance for damage caused by fitted kitchens

Questioner

In December 2012, we entered into an agreement with our housing association regarding the purchase, delivery and installation of a built-in kitchen and the dismantling of the old kitchen in our rental home. The built-in kitchen, including built-in refrigerator, was installed by employees of the housing association. According to the consumer association, the built-in refrigerator has a lifespan of approximately 10 years. A built-in refrigerator needs good air circulation; no good air circulation is not good cooling, is a waste of energy and shortens the lifespan of the built-in refrigerator. According to the manual of the built-in refrigerator and according to experts, the air supply must be at least 200 cm² and the air exhaust opening must be at least 200 cm2 in size to create good air circulation. Unfortunately, we have had to conclude that the air exhaust opening is 148 cm² in size. The air exhaust opening is therefore 52 cm² too small, resulting in a defective built-in refrigerator with a lifespan of 10 years and an excessively high energy bill after 5.5 years of normal use. Can we still hold the builders of the built-in kitchen liable after almost 6 years for not delivering the built-in kitchen properly, resulting in the defective built-in refrigerator and an excessively high energy bill?

Lawyer

You can hold the housing association liable for the damage, but then you must be able to demonstrate that the damage is due to incorrect installation or that the air circulation does not meet the supplier's requirements for a normal lifespan of 10 years. It is recommended that the finding of the defective air circulation be established by a recognized company, so that you have stronger evidence. In short, the evidence is a problem here. If you are unable to reach an agreement (yet), I would be happy to look at your case.