Should a landlord pay for the pool repairs?

Posted by on . 7 comments.


We just signed a 1yr lease on a rental. It came with a pool that appeared to be in good working order. They have a "pool guy" that comes on Monday but due to his age (old) he only skims out pool and adds liquid chemicals. We tried to fire up the spa and it never got hot, just warm. Told the landlord and after several attempts to fix it (suggestions via email) he agreed to let me call out an independent pool maintenance company. The company looked at the filtration system and noticed several things wrong. Filter pressure too high, leaking from intake valves, exposed wiring and a black algae spot. He said it's all do to poor upkeep on the pool. All this can directly effect the working order of the pool. Being that we rented this in hopes of actually using the pool, should the landlord pay to have the pool brought up to working condition? I don't know if he knew it had problems.
In our lease it only states that the tenant assumes all responsibility for use of pool. We haven't even used it.
BTW-There has been several things in this house that needed repairing so I feel we are complaining and only been here 1 month. Should I feel bad? Should I stop?
There was no mention at move in that the pool wasn't working properly.
Like I said, the landlord probably didn't know these problems existed. He hasn't lived in the house for about 5 years and the previous tenant didn't take care of things.



Comments

  1. Jay says:
    September 4, 2009 at 10:08 am

    You rented a home with a pool because you wanted to be able to use it.

    The rent for a home with a pool is more than a home with out one, so you are paying already for the cost of pool upkeep in your rent. Landlords factor that in. So, basically, you are paying for something that you aren’t getting.

    The pool should be brought into a condition where it is useable, and it is the landlord’s responsibility to do that.

    You agreed to be responsible for your USAGE, which means you won’t sue him if there is an accident and someone gets hurt. That doesn’t mean you are expected to make it USEABLE.

    Send him a copy of the findings from the new company and ask him when he thinks it will be taken care of so that you can use the pool and spa that you expected to be able to use when you rented from him.

    Keep copies of all communications with him in the event you ever have to go to court.

  2. Cindy says:
    September 4, 2009 at 10:08 am

    Yes they are responsible for fixing the pool and anything else in the house. If he refuses to pay, you could always pay yourself and tell him you will take it off the rent.

  3. michelle b says:
    September 4, 2009 at 10:08 am

    It sounds like you landlord has broken his lease agreement. Landlords can’t charge you for maintenance unless you carelessly damage property. This is grounds for you to terminate the lease.

  4. Frank M says:
    September 4, 2009 at 10:08 am

    When you signed the lease it should have stated something wrong with the pool/spa. It should be the landlords responsibility to bring the spa back to working order not your. You’re paying the rent the spa should work. Legally if you wanted to get crazy about it you can get an attourney and all that crap but just talk to your landlord and ask explain that legally its his responsibility. if he doesnt want to fix the spa then ask him nicely to just lower the monthly rent by 50 bucks or something. going to court for something like that is crazy but hey, you can sue somebody for saying they dont like your hair these days. you really can do that. crazy huh?

  5. Vangorn2000 says:
    September 4, 2009 at 10:08 am

    The landlord *should* fix up the pool, but the only way he would be *required* to do so is if anything that was wrong had the potential to cause health or hazard (aka "habitability") issues.

    If any of those things wrong with the pool are hazards in that way, the landlord would be required to block access to the pool until those things were repaired. The black algae spot, in particular, may lead to mold spore problems.

    And BTW, don’t feel bad about asking for fixes of things that affect your habitability. Your landlord is required by law to maintain standards of habitability and safety in your apartment, and a leaky faucet, shorted wire, or even a loose doorknob can all be hazards.

    What you should do is be sure to document every incident of repair requests, by registered letter, and give your landlord a reasonable time to fix them (30 days is more than enough unless the hazard is immediate, in which case it should be no more than 3 days). Then if the things are not fixed by the deadline you ask, it is legal for you to get an estimate and do it yourself, and send the landlord a reduced rent check with the cost of repairing the defect deducted (be sure you include the receipt in the envelope and keep a copy for yourself, though!)

  6. birdbayboy says:
    September 4, 2009 at 10:08 am

    Landlord is responsible for pool and NO WAY should you call a repair person or pay for repair!! You could get "stuck" with it and then if repair person did something wrong, your fault…
    Insist that landlord fix it or you can move or ask for rent adjustment.

  7. macaca says:
    September 4, 2009 at 10:08 am

    I wouldn’t be too concerned about him thinking you’re complaining. He hasn’t lived in the house for 5 years and I’m guessing hasn’t repaired the pool equipment in at least that many years. He knows what it takes to keep a pool up and probably won’t be surprised when you tell him. Probably he’ll repair the filtration and the heater as well. He probably will be happy to have his house working properly. Nobody wants unhappy tenants.
    He might even thank you for caring about his house, the last guy didn’t.

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