Rent Problem Boiler? Get Free Advice!

Questioner

Good day. I moved into my current home 4 years ago, which has a boiler for hot water. In the meantime, I have received several letters from the rental company in which they want to offer a contract. for renting the boiler. It is always indicated that the boiler can be removed if a rental agreement is not forthcoming. I think this is perfectly fine, they can come and take that device away as far as I'm concerned. Now I have received another letter in which they offer me a new contract, in which they meet me halfway want to come by having the rent start in January of this year, and with that I don't have to pay the rent of the previous years not to be paid retroactively. I find this unacceptable. This can't be legally correct? Eneco can't show me a signature in which I agree to financial matters. How can an agency then demand money from someone else?

Lawyer

I understand that you are in principle renting the property without heating and/or hot water? See for example https://www.woonbond.nl/vraagbaak/moet-verwarming-en-warmwater-huis-zijn This means that you have been using the Eneco boiler for the past 4 years without a contract. You may be willing to install your own boiler. I am curious about the agreements that were made at the start of the lease. Was it made clear to you that there was a rental boiler? Did you make it clear that you did not appreciate that? In general, anyone who uses the goods or services of another person is obliged to pay a reasonable fee, but there are of course exceptions. To assess this, I or one of my colleagues will need more information.

Questioner

Hello, It is true that I want to buy my own boiler, but I will only do this once the current one has finally been removed. Incidentally, I refuse to give the order for this, because then they will probably charge me for the costs. I think that these should be recovered from the previous occupant, because he did not give the order for the removal. This house is in a flat, and there is block heating. Only no hot tap water, without boiler. The lease agreement does not contain the word 'eneco' anywhere. I myself thought that the boiler was part of the house when I went to see if I wanted to live here, until I suddenly received a letter a year later or so, in which they wanted to charge rent. No, I did not indicate that I did not appreciate a rental boiler. If I had known this, I might have done so, because for the cost of rent each year, I could also buy a new boiler each year, with a 3-year warranty per piece. I find it a disgusting situation.

Lawyer

You could therefore indicate to the landlord that it was not made clear at the outset that the current boiler is a rental property from Eneco, and that you have always assumed that the boiler belonged to the home, and that you therefore rent it from your landlord. Then it is logical that you do not want a boiler from Eneco, after all you already had one from the landlord. Now it turns out that the boiler is not theirs, but from Eneco and they did not tell you that, you propose that they remove it and compensate you for the fact that you are now renting something without a hot water heater, instead of in the condition when you viewed it. That could be in the form of a rent reduction, for example.