Rental contract + subsiding house - urgent help needed

[Wicksey]

Sorry this is a long one.
We signed a new year's contract with our landlords for 1/1/10 for 12 months. We have been here since Sept 2007 and from 1/1/08 have had 12 month contracts with them.
Over the last few weeks the rental house has suffered severe damage after the heavy rains. The front of one end of the house is sinking, taking the rest of it with it. There are cracks so large I can put my hand through them and we can see through the walls into the outside. Some walls are bulging and out of shape and the huge glass panes that have been used to glass in the conservatory are becoming loose and the frames are coming apart as the house is changing shape. For a couple of weeks we could not even use our front door into the house.
The landlords were away on holiday until 8 March and so when they returned they asked for March's rent. I said they should come and see the damage to the house first, but have at no time refused to pay the rent. Last Friday an insurance assessor came to the house and said it was dangerous but the insurance company will not be able to give any decision as to whether they will cover any repairs for another month.
Things came to a head on Sunday when we tried to explain that we were waiting to hear whether we can remain in the house, or indeed if it is safe for us to do so. They hold 3 months advance rent from us so if we need to go quickly we didn't want to pay any more rent as we doubt that it would be returned.
They seem to think that the house can be 'repaired' in a week and whilst the builders are in we have the use of a small guest house up the hill from here, meaning that we would have to split our time between the two properties.
In our opinion and a friend who is a structural engineer, the house cannot simply be patched up. The terraces out the front have also moved and the pool is on the tilt, so it is not just our house. There now is another problem with the water as there is a leak under the bathroom floor and also there is air coming into the water pump causing more problems.
We have now said we want to move out by the end of May as they have 3 mths advance rent until then, but they are insisting that we pay March and then move out at the end of June. I feel that the house is uninhabitable, and even after patching up the cracks the walls will still be out of shape and there is still movement. More rain will simply make it move again. Plus we do not want to live here with the builders for a prolonged period if more major works have to be done. I really don't think it can be repaired without demolishing the affected parts of the house.They are saying we should be patient with them, but we are the ones living here and putting up with all the hassle. They say that they cannot rent the house for the summer if we break our contract, but I cannot honestly see anyone wanting to stay here with the floors leaning to one side and wobbly walls.
Where do we stand legally with this. Is it reasonable for us to break our contract in these circumstances?

[katy]

Firstly, that house could be dangerous. Call in the local ayuntamiento and they may condemn it like they have some in Estepona. Don't pay anymore rent.

[julian]

by not paying any more rent you will probably lose all your rights.
you are probably due some sort of damages to be paid for all this, but you need to be up to date with your payments to be in the right,otherwise you will possibly be the one who end up in the wrong !!!

[Mowser]

Did the owner have house insurance to cover loss of earnings from tenants? Check that out.

[julian]

the firts thing you should do is send a burofax to the owner to say the house is unfit to live in (take fotos) and for him to supply you with a similar property, or pay hotel, immediately...you need to have some proof, as words get lost in the wind when you later need them....maybe with that he will then want to return the deposit and see the send of you before it starts to cost him more expenses etc

[Wicksey]

After another sleepless night, I must admit I feel like walking out even knowing that we will not see our advance rent or deposit again. The main problem is that all our furniture and belongings are here, which will take a bit of time to pack up and move, plus we have 3 cats. I have been tempted by Katy's suggestion but that would make us homeless.

Julian, the landlords live next door so they know what the house is like. They have offered us a tiny guest house to move into although it isn't practical to move everything out from here, so we would have to camp out there.

Last night the toilet in the unaffected part of the house has stopped flushing the water away. I guess the drains are now trying to go uphill to the septic tank. We think a water pipe has broken as there is also air coming into the water pump which keeps making it cut out as well. I know there's people worse off than us and at least it's not our own house, but I hate all this confrontation and the way we are made to feel we are in the wrong when none of this is our fault. I don't see why we should loose over 2500€ of our money when I feel the house is uninhabitable and we should be released from our contract.

[julian]

"Julian, the landlords live next door so they know what the house is like"

the burofax is only for proof for later if you need it, not to really let them know.
demand you money back, or a similar property..NOW..(incl.them paying the removal costs) if they see you don´t now your rights they will (they already are) walk all over you.

[country boy]

The answer really Wicksey is immediately go and see your Solicitor and put things in motion according to Spanish Law. Otherwise...walk away from it NOW and cut your losses. This is not going to get any better by the sound of what you have written.

[frank]

You already have got conflicting advice here, and although people mean well, we are probably not the best people to ask, do as Country Boy suggests, get some legal advice asap. It sounds as if it's totally uninhabitable, it's absurd for you to still be paying rent for it.

[campo babe]

Yes, get some legal advice. Also take photographs for evidence.

It might be a good idea to approach the town hall. They could be the ones to say the house is uninhabitable.

[Wicksey]

Well, we have got something of a result this morning.

After the toilets decided to stop working and the water pump starting cutting out the landlords came down and they have now accepted that we do have serious problems here. I'm still not sure what repairs can be carried out to rectify this, but the plumber is coming in later today to discuss it. The landlords have completely changed their attitude, saying that we do not have to pay any rent this month after all and we will take things has they come for now (perhaps they read A.Com!). We are moving up to the guesthouse temporarily where at least the toilet works! The air has been cleared a bit and they have calmed down and been much more consilitory.

It has caused us a huge amount of stress over the last couple of weeks and whilst I appreciate that it is also a huge headache for the landlords, we really didn't need all this on top of living in this house and watching it deteriorate before our eyes.

Many thanks for your comments. Hopefully we shall know what we are doing long term before too long.