Our landlord wants to charge us for too much heating costs from last year. Is that allowed?

Questioner

We have a private rental home and above us there is another man alone with his own rental apartment. Also the garage behind our house has been converted into a home. This home is also rented by someone alone. In recent years we have had a lot of problems with heating our homes. An example of this is that last January when there was ice in the Netherlands and it was incredibly cold, it did not get warmer than 15 degrees in our house. This was because there was only one boiler for all three homes in the house behind us. This boiler had to heat all three homes. However, the radiator under our front window did not get warm because the boiler simply could not handle it. We were forced to heat the place with two electric heaters. We have a daughter who is now four and it was not comfortable for her or for us in our house. Also, both the upstairs neighbor and we both had a geyser. Fortunately, the heating problems have now been resolved because our landlord had a boiler installed in both our house and that of our upstairs neighbour and he had the wall (we have a corner house) insulated. However, he came yesterday with the story that he had received the final bill and that he was very shocked by it. He has to pay about 3500 extra. And actually wants to recover this from us and the other residents of his building. We ourselves pay 675 euros in basic rent, 150 euros compensation for gas, water and electricity (advance) and 25 euros service costs. In the past two years he has already applied a rent increase to the entire rent amount. and we now pay approximately 900 euros. The man above us also has his own contract and pays 125 euros for gas, water and electricity. The man who lives in the back house has not paid an amount for gas, water and electricity for years. This is not included in his contract. He also indicated that he is not obliged to enter into a contract with an energy supplier and that we can do this ourselves. Our contract states: Delivery and services: If additional deliveries and services are to be provided by or on behalf of the landlord, the parties agree: Delivery of gas, water and electricity. We don't have intermediate meters so it's also impossible to find out where these high costs come from. We both work, are not home all day. The man who lives in the garage is also away all day and the man who lives on the 1st floor is home all day. My question now is whether he can expect us all to foot the bill of 3,500 euros? We also wonder whether he is allowed to apply the rent increase to the total amount that we transfer monthly. I hope you can give us legal advice on how to proceed with this. Yours sincerely,

Lawyer

So, a boiler is permanently and permanently connected to and forms part of the rented property. I wonder if this boiler 1) has been sufficiently maintained and 2) has the capacity to heat 3 individual homes, it doesn't seem like it. 1 tenants must have it carried out unless major maintenance that you cannot do yourself or have done, and 2 is a defect in the rented property. You must hold the landlord liable for the consequential damage caused by this defect. I think I could help all three of you to attribute the damage to the landlord for the most part. Otherwise, please contact us via info@rechtinjestad.nl so that you can also submit documents for inspection.