My landlord promised to fix my broken AC last week, but is now ignoring my texts and calls.
Do I have any resort?
Is it possible to threaten not to pay rent until it’s fixed?
Definitely don’t do this.
At the time you signed the contract, was anything mentioned about AC maintenance?
You might refer back to your contract at this time. My guess would be that any appliance repair is your responsibility.
I thought the new renter’s rights put the burden of repair on the owner.
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I imagine this would only apply to structural damage to the apartment that occurs outside of the tenant’s control, e.g. a leak. My landlord covered the cost of fixing a leak in my ceiling, which involved redoing the waterproofing on the roof. But since I am directly responsible for the clog in the drain of my bathroom, my landlord won’t cover that.
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Contact the Tsui MaMa Foundation. They can probably give you advice about the current laws and what options you have. I’m not sure if the new renter’s rights have been put into force yet, and assuming you have a contract, new laws may or may not apply.
https://www.tmm.org.tw/
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Yeah, that might be so, but you’re a foreigner. And we all know that foreigners don’t count.
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I think they are supposed to cover wear and tear as well (didn’t you say it was likely a hard angle on that drain). But yeah, compliance depends on the owner to an extent.
It depends on whether or not the AC is specifically mentioned in the contract. If it’s not, then basically “the last tenant installed it so it is not my responsibility”.
I’d get it fixed right away because this muggy weather feels like crap and you really can’t sleep in it even with the fan on. Night feels worse than day because of the humidity.
If it’s a split AC and it’s one of those deals where the AC must be replaced (basically compressor is broken) then one possible solution is portable AC that has gotten popular these days. It’s not the best solution but it will cool your room and you can take it when you whenever you move. They have it for around 9000 brand new.
A new split AC, especially now that all the ones they sell are all inverter, costs more than 20,000.
I have lived in several nice properties and every single one the landlord paid for repairing the AC. It’s not the renters fault if the landlord is cheap and buys lower quality appliances.
Landlord has to pay but obviously is a cheap skate. I’d contact some bureau for renters help.
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This is assuming crappy quality or old AC is the reason for the need of repair or replacement.
I have some new and good ACs in my place. Since new and good appliances generally don’t shit out unless you abuse them, my landlord told me any repairs would fall to me (unless something crazy happens out of my control, like it getting struck by lightning or something). I think that’s fair, and I haven’t had a single problem with them in the year that I’ve lived here anyway.
I should probably add that I have an unusually nice and reasonable landlord.
Sadly, in the end it’s still my hairball, and a clog wouldn’t have occurred had I thought to cover the drain with a hair catcher when my hair started getting really long.
But actually I haven’t even tried asking my landlord yet if they’d help me with it. I just assume it’s my responsibility since I created the problem.
You are right…Landlord is legally responsible for air conditioning units if it is their ac unit and it breaks down due to no fault of the renter.
To op I’d just text him back that it is really hot and you’re feeling sick. Please repair it quickly. If no reply I’d let him know a few days later that I’m repairing it myself and will deduct it from the rent. That should trigger the cheapass to call you where you can remind him he has to fix it
The main reason foreigners get the shaft in Taiwan is because most foreigners pussy out and never stand up for their rights.
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I hear you, but let’s not perpetuate negative stereotypes about cats, okay?
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Call the official repair line for that brand (google it) and get the guy in. Deduct the cost from the rent.
Only problem will be setting up a date this century. It is June, and they are swamped.
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This is gonna be your real issue here. Actually getting it fixed in a reasonable amount of time as the hot season revs up is going to be a challenge.
I dunno. Mine spat the dummy at this time of year a coupla years ago. The guy came around the next day and replaced the computer for a couple of thousand. I was most impressed.
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That’s super lucky. Usually it can take quite a while to get an AC repaired in the summer.
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Depends on the brand. Panasonic, Hitachi, big names…quick service. Anything else, especially SAMPO, forever and ever.
I’m getting mine fixed now. They need a couple of days.
I have to pay the repair or buy a new one, because the landlord specified in the contract he won’t repair or replace.
I agreed cos my rent is well below average and has not been increased for five years.