Responsible costs for heat pump failure?

Questioner

In August 2023, my boyfriend and I moved into a private rental home. Since we moved here, there has been a malfunction in our heat pump. This malfunction means that we have limited hot water. We have already reported this to our landlord several times. As a result, technicians have come by several times to solve the problem, but without success. One time they say that they have to pump the entire system empty and other times they don't know what is wrong and have to ask the manufacturer. They say that they will get back to us and contact us, but the company never does this. Now we are faced with the problem that we have had limited to sometimes no hot water for 3 months and in addition this failure requires a lot of power. We see this in our power consumption. For example, in the month of September we used 400 kWh of power. This is of course too much for only 2 people. We also reported this to our landlord. After saying this 3 times he replied back that he will ask about it. Haven't heard anything back about this yet. Now we would like this fault to be resolved as soon as possible because this is all costing us money. We would also like the extra energy costs to be paid by the company. We just don't know what our rights are in this. Should we pay less rent because there is "maintenance backlog" or should we contact the company for these costs?

Lawyer

In a rental property, as a tenant you are in principle 'only' responsible for minor repairs and maintenance. Major repairs and maintenance, including repairing a defective heat pump, are usually the responsibility of the landlord. If there are defects, such as in your situation where there are persistent technical problems with the heat pump, then it is your right and duty to inform the landlord of this. It is then up to the landlord to take action and solve the problem. You have already done this, with which you have fulfilled your duty. If the landlord, despite being informed of the fault and the resulting problems, fails to take action and resolve the problem, you can reclaim prepaid rent or request a rent reduction. However, it is advisable to initially send a reminder letter to your landlord, reiterating the problem and urgently requesting action. Always make this communication in writing and keep evidence of it. If the heat pump also causes unreasonably high power consumption, you can also hold the landlord liable for this. The landlord is obliged to provide you with a home that meets what you agreed upon in the rental contract. If the home uses more power than can reasonably be expected, the home does not meet the requirements and you can see this as a defect. But again, these are complex legal issues where it is advisable to seek advice from a legal expert or lawyer, who can better assess your situation and advise you on the steps to take.' ---------------- Stichting Rechtswinkel.nl is a national organization with students and volunteers. The above advice is based on limited information and may be incomplete or even incorrect for your situation. Always consult a lawyer or attorney for your further steps. Read disclaimer: https://rechtswinkel.nl/disclaimer