Dinkelharper wrote:Yes, with agreement of course. There have been several burglaries in the past 2 years which if 3 while I was living here. Security gates are broken and the landlord won't fix. Outer gates are broken and unlockable. Unfortunately I have a landlord who simply does not care and seem to have total lack of empathy and the real estate agent is completely incompetent and does not care either. Bad luck I guess!
Actions speak louder than words. In the UK, a landlord is legally responsible for maintaining their property to an acceptable standard. In your situation, I would find out what Spanish law says in this respect - I believe it's the same as the UK, because it's based in EU law:
http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/Then:
- get a quote for repairing the damaged security gates/grilles, pass it to your landlord's agent, giving them a deadline in writing to confirm that you can proceed with the work at your landlord's cost.
- if they fail to respond, ask the agent for a Formal Complaint form. Under Spanish law, it's illegal for them to refuse to provide this form - if they refuse, threaten to call the Policia Local. This is usually enough to get them to comply, but if they don't, DO call the police, they are used to dealing with such matters.
Here's a link to how to complete the complaint form:
http://moneysaverspain.com/official-complaint-form-spain/- if the agent and landlord still fail to comply, visit your Town Hall (Ayuntamiento) and denounce them both.
Even if you've already decided you don't want to stay in the property, taking the above action should prevent future tenants suffering what you've gone through, but more importantly, it will give you enormous satisfaction to see the "incompetent" agent squirm when he realises you mean business and, you never know, it might actually get the agent and the landlord to respond positively. Good luck!