By renting a house, apartment or any other property, you receive someone else’s property that you must take care of while it is in your hands. Yes indeed, the responsibility does not only fall on the tenant; The owner or lessor has a series of obligations that are contemplated by the law in Colombia.
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Remember that before proceeding upon arrival, ideally there should be a leasing contract. This can be oral or writtenso, however, there must be a signed paper between the parties, in accordance with Law 820 of 2003.
“With the simple agreement of wills between the parties, the property, what it is going to be used for and the value of the lease, there is already a lease contract,” said lawyer Óscar Rivera, in a past conversation with EL TIEMPO.
Obligations of the landlord or owner
If you moved into the property and noticed that it is deteriorated or, in general, it does not agree with what was discussed at the beginning, As a tenant, you have every right to demand that the landlord comply with his obligations.
Each one and a brief explanation are listed below, based on what is indicated by Law 820 of 2003 that regulates lease contracts:
- “Delivery to the lessee on the agreed date, or at the time of the execution of the contract, the property given to the lessee in good state of servicesafety and health and make available the services, things or related uses and the additional ones agreed”.
Taking this first obligation into account, the home must have the necessary conditions to be occupied. For example, if the electricity or water service is cut off, the owner must take all the pertinent steps to restore it.
(Also read: Who should paint a rented apartment in Colombia: the owner or the tenant?).
Upon receiving the home, the tenant has the right to have the services in order.
- “Keep in the property the services, things and related and additional uses in good condition to serve the purpose agreed upon in the contract”.
Be careful with the previous point. First, the locative repairs of the property are the responsibility of the tenant, that is, the arrangements to keep the property in the same state in which it was received. However, he is not responsible for damages due to the deterioration of time, “or force majeure, or fortuitous event, or the poor quality of the building, due to its age, due to the nature of the soil, or due to construction defects” , in accordance with article 2028 of the Civil Code.
In the event that there is moisture due to bad pipes, the owner is the one who must ensure its repair, since the law obliges him to “maintain” the property “in a condition to serve the purpose for which it has been leased.”
- “When the urban housing lease is in writing, the landlord must provide both the tenant and the co-debtor, when applicable, copy of the same with original signatures. This obligation must be satisfied within a maximum period of ten (10) days from the date of execution of the contract..
Failure to comply with this point can be penalized with fines equivalent to three (3) monthly rental payments, as indicated by law.
The tenant should know what to use and have a copy to review what to do if there is a problem.
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The tenant must have a copy of the lease.
In addition to providing the document to the tenant, the owner must take into account that this must be the product of an agreement between them. For no reason can the landlord impose; It is expected that at least they will reach a consensus on points such as the price and the form of payment, the list of services, the duration of the lease, among others.
- “In the case of habitable dwellings under the horizontal property regime, The lessor must deliver to the lessee a copy of the regulatory part thereof“.
That is, if you rented in a residential complex or building with more properties, the owner will have to let you know the rules that the administration has arranged.
If you live in a complex, the owner must give you the horizontal property regulations.
Carlos Ortega. TIME
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- In the case of shared housing, The lessor also has the obligation to maintain in adequate operating conditionssafety and health of the areas or services for common use and to implement the necessary repairs and replacements on their own account, when they are not attributable to the tenants, and to guarantee the maintenance of the internal order of the house“.
For example, if you rented a room in a house where there are more tenants, the owner has to watch over the common areas and tend so that there are no inconveniences between the tenants.
The tenant and landlord can resolve their disagreements in a conciliation center or in a House of Justicewhere they will be listened to and indicate what to do in each case.
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