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On going court case with landlord....
We have an ongoing court case with our landlord which relates to repair of the roof etc. of our appartment . If the landlord were to sell the property BEFORE the final trial date and the ensuing judgement ; who would then be liable for the damages and liabilities (i.e repairs) if the judgement was ruled in our favour? Additionally, would the new owner be able to ask us to leave before the trial , and before the judgement is made ? Note that we have a fully valid 9 year contract that will terminate in approx. 2 years time.
Given that the landlord would have to declare the dispute to any potential buyer, I doubt it would be sensible to sell.
Any eventual new owner would have to give you 6 months notice, and that only if there is a suitable clause in the contract and they want to live in the property or make major renovation/construction work.
These are questions that you should be asking your lawyer about. The answer could well depend on the individualities of the case that no-one here has any idea about, and it could be that your current landlord might be required to pay the proceeds of any sale into a blocked account pending judgement.
To make sure the purchaser respects your rights, your lease must be registred in the rent registry (Myrent.be).
Your contract provides for the terms to apply in case the owner changes....read it....if no mention, the the rental law applies.
As for the dispute, my understanding (but no legal advice) is that it is between you and the current owner. But you will loose security on the property with the sale. Check with a notary (advice is free)
Good luck
I think you have to apply common sense here.
The argument is between you and your landlord as to who pays for damages.
The fact that he might no longer own the property when the judgment is handed down is irrelevant.
If YOU move and there is another tenant when the judgment is handed down and it is in HIS favour who will be liable? Certainly not the new tenant. You will be liable and the fact that you no longer live there will similarly be irrelevant.
I'm struggling to understand why you'd be liable in either case. Unless you paid for repairs the landlord wouldn't do and this is why you're in court. Building exterior are the landlord responsibility not the tenants unless you have a very strange contract. If this is the case I would have thought the landlord you currently have is liable. If the repairs aren't yet done then surely the responsibility moves to the new owner.
That's said proving anything related to property in court here is very tricky and I think it's also possible the current landlord is just trying it on and may well pay before court.
If the property is sold, and the court finds in your favour, the new landlord will be liable. If the new landlord hasn't been told about this, then he'll be able to sue the previous owner for "vices cachés".
At this stage of a court case, haven't you already got a lawyer on the case? Wouldn't they be a better place to ask?
