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Common Charges for my apartment
Hi,
I live in a 2 bed room apartment in Kessel-Lo since 2007. The owner has been collecting common charges every month for common utilities and water usage. Electricity and Gas charges are paid for by me separately.
After nearly 8 years for the first time the owner has sent me a registered post with charges for the last 8 years. He says that there is a large balance of nearly €5000 that I have to now pay.
Can he go back more than 3 or 5 years and ask for me to pay?
Thanks,
Raghu
He can go back five years maximum. And make sure you get very detailed explanations on how these charges have been calculated. You have the right to see all the bills etc. (he is not obliged to give you copies, but you must be offered the opportunity to see all the paperwork, for example at the office of the building syndic).
He should have been providing you with these calculations each year. It's unfathomable that someone should wait for eight years before asking for this money. Did you ever raise the issue with him during these years?
Also, just to be sure, take a very close look at your rental agreement and what it says of the charges. There are two types of charges possible: a set amount you pay each month (forfait), or an estimation you pay each month (provision). If the charges have been set using the first method your landlord cannot no demand any extra payment, because this "forfait" is not legally obliged to correspond to the real costs.
It's a provision ("Dit bedrag dient als provisie").
But your landlord really has been incredibly negligent. It's clearly stated in the rental contract that "Tenminste eenmaal per jaar wordt een gedetailleerde afrekening van de lasten en het verbruik aan de huurder toegestuurd. "
"AT LEAST once a year a detailed statement of the costs and consumption will be sent to the tenant."
And he has not done this for the past EIGHT years??
As stated, he does have the right to ask for the extra for the past five years, not beyond that. Demand to see detailed calculations for each of the five years, along with the corresponding bills. It's your right.
Depends of course on the size of the building and what it is like (is there a lift? Is there a garden? How big are the common areas?) but 25 euros a month does seem very very low as charges for an apartment in an apartment building. So it is indeed likely that the actual costs have been much much higher. Even the 5000 euro mentioned would not be excessive for eight years.
But of course your landlord should never have allowed things to go this far. If you refuse to pay and he takes you to court, the judge will probably find in his favour, but at the same time give you a plan to pay in installments (for example spreading the payments over four years or so). Few people have 5000 euros extra just lying around.
you can also ask for help from the huurdersbond: http://www.vob-vzw.be/HB/tabid/63/Default.aspx
i think it's a flemish thing, so maybe brussels has its own if you live there.
I moved in my flat 1 & half years ago and paid an amount of common charges every month. The total sum is 300euro more than other tenants paid each month, as I thought it's provisional....
However, I have been waiting for the common charge breakdown list from My landlord for around 1 and half years, he told me he is still waiting for the syndic as well. I think he might not want to refund me the extra money after paying the common charge.
What should I do? Our contract said this should be given every year.
Please if anyone can help advice?
I heard somewhere (although not sure that it is correct) that when charges are based on a provision, the real costs in the previous year or two must correspond to the provision in a new contract. As i said I am not sure but it might be worth looking in to.
Thanks.
Maybe it's worth looking into it.
"Tenminste eenmaal per jaar wordt een gedetailleerde afrekening van de lasten en het verbruik aan de huurder toegestuurd."
At least once a year, a detailed bill of charges and use will be sent to the renter.
Therefore, you would be entirely within your rights to suggest that as this has not been forthcoming in previous years, it implies it was not necessary, and if the landlord has failed to provide this, he has effectively forsaken his rights to recover it.
WHEN you get a fully detailed bill, THEN it would be reasonable for you to expect to have to pay up for the full year that it covers.
If he doesn't like it, the worst that can happen is that he takes you to the magistrates court and the magistrate finds in his favour and you have to cough up the 5000 anyway. It's far more likely that the magistrate will tell him to get stuffed.
