Repairs: what your landlord has to fix

The damp that never dries, the boiler that has been broken for three weeks, the blind nobody comes to fix. Repairs are the single most repeated complaint in Pinacasa reviews, and also one of the areas where the law gives tenants the most. Here is what falls to each side.

The general rule: the home has to be liveable

Your landlord must keep the property fit to live in for the whole tenancy. That is not a favour and it does not depend on goodwill: it is what collecting rent obliges them to do. Anything affecting habitability — installations, structure, damp, heating, hot water — is theirs.

The tenant covers the small repairs that ordinary use demands, and any damage they caused themselves. Changing a bulb or a tap washer is on you; an electrical system that trips every other day is not.

Spain: article 21 of the tenancy act

The Spanish tenancy act requires the landlord to carry out the repairs needed to keep the home liveable, without passing the cost on through the rent. The only exceptions are breakdowns attributable to the tenant, and the small repairs of ordinary use.

Where a repair is urgent and the landlord does not act, you may carry it out yourself and deduct the cost from the rent, provided you told them first. And if works last more than twenty days and stop you using part of the home, you are entitled to a proportionate reduction in rent.

The Netherlands: gebreken and the Huurcommissie

The split is equivalent: the landlord takes structural maintenance, the tenant the kleine herstellingen listed in the Besluit kleine herstellingen. What is distinctive about the Dutch system is the remedy — if you report a serious defect and the landlord does not resolve it, you can ask the Huurcommissie for a temporary rent reduction until they do.

The procedure is cheap and accessible, but it has one prerequisite people routinely skip: you must have reported the defect to the landlord in writing and given them a reasonable period to act. Without that notice the case does not get off the ground.

How to claim a repair

Report the fault in writing as soon as you spot it, with photos and a date.
Describe the problem and its concrete effect: no hot water, no heating, damp in the bedroom.
Give an explicit, reasonable deadline for the repair.
Follow up in writing if nothing happens. The message trail is your evidence.
Keep any invoice if you have to front an urgent repair yourself.
If the problem affects health and safety, alert the municipal housing service or the gemeente.

When the landlord simply never shows up

Prolonged silence is itself a breach. With the written record in hand you can claim the repair, a rent reduction for the time without service, and in serious cases termination of the contract without penalty.

Before going that far it is worth documenting everything calmly and getting guidance: the consumer or housing service in Spain, the Huurcommissie or Juridisch Loket in The Netherlands. And leave your review. On repairs, a landlord’s track record is the best predictor of how they will treat the next tenant.

Frequently asked questions

Who pays if the boiler breaks?

The landlord, unless you caused the fault. Hot water and heating go to habitability, so keeping them working is the landlord’s responsibility.

Can I deduct a repair from the rent?

In Spain you can, where the repair is urgent and you notified the landlord first. Keep the invoice and the prior notice — those are what justify the deduction.

Can I pay less after weeks without heating?

Yes. If a defect or works stop you using part of the home, a proportionate rent reduction applies. In The Netherlands the Huurcommissie is the body that sets it.

This guide is general information for tenants, not legal advice. Specific amounts and percentages change every year and vary by region and municipality, so confirm your own situation with the relevant authority or a professional.