" Hi! I am hoping someone will have advice for us. We just moved into a new apartment on Dec. 3rd. It is a furnished apartment. We already have problems with the landlady not wanting to pay to fix things that were already broken. I think she, as the owner, is responsible for maintainence of the apartment fixtures, at least problems that were not caused by my husband and I, however she says that we must pay for ANY broken fixtures and problems as long as we live here. We got here and noticed the refrigerator wasn''t working properly, so we asked the landlady to fix it. She agreed to fix and pay for it. Just as it was being fixed, the toilet broke- a cheap plastic pipe connects from the tank to the bowl and apparently was loose. When I flushed, the pressure from the water made the pipe fall out and water went everywhere! After trying to reinsert the pipe, the plastic tank fell off the wall! I called and reported the problem. She asked me to complain to the building manager (I think this should have been her job as the owner), who said the warranty on the building fixtures ran out 2 years ago and they wouldn''t fix it for free. So the landlady, upon hearing this, told me I had to pay to fix the toilet and complained that she couldn''t afford to pay for ""everything that broke in the apartment."" So far she has unreluctantly agreed to pay for the refrigerator. . She got her brother-in-law to repair the toilet, but he did a shoddy job and it still leaks. She is refusing to pay for anything that breaks down in the future She said, ""In Malaysia the tenant must pay, unlike in your country."" I think she is responsible for damages that were pre-existing and not our fault. I would like to make a written agreement with her as to who is responsible for certain maintainence fees, since it wasn''t included in the original rental agreement. Whose responsibility is it ? Any advice on what is right or ususal in Malaysia regarding apartment maintainence? If this isn''t resolved, I am afraid she will try to stick us with paying for future damages that we aren''t responsible for. I mean, what if the electrical wiring was faulty and caught the place on fire?! Appreciate any advice you can give! Thanks! Tina K. email: tinaweener81@hotmail.com "

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The answer is simple and the same as the rules anywhere else in the world. Your rental contract shows quite clearly who is responsible for what and is stamped up as a legal document. Generally the landlord is responsible for the fabric of the building and all reasonable wear and tear. If you go around smashing the place up then you have to pay. If the toilet/cooker/aircons break then the landlord pays. You do have a rental contract don''t you? Don''t you? Don''t you? Oh Dear.......now you have learnt something.

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" Hello Mike, Thanks for the information. Yes, we have a rental agreement but it doesn''t contain any detailed information saying who pays for what. It only says, ""Damage to furnishings and fixtures will be taken out of deposit."" I thought to ask about who pays for what in case of broken fixtures that weren''t our fault but stupidly brushed it aside. You would think any reasonable person would know that pre-existing damage and damage due to really poor/outdated fixtures would be the resonsibilty of the owner, but this lady has been trying to say that since we are using the items we have to pay. She finally broke down after 7 weeks and bought a new refrigerator after the crappy used one she had bought was broken since we moved in, plus agreed to reimburse us for repairs we had made and spoiled food. She got her brother-in-law to come ""fix"" the toilet for free, and he had the nerve to tell me to ""be more cautious"" as if I had done something other than simply flush the toilet! She is now saying after this she refuses to pay for any other damages! Yes, we have learned a good lesson here! It seems you have to be able to afford an expensive condo to get any kind of decent place to live around here! Tina K. "

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" I think there''s a message for us all in this. when I first came to HKG, I didn''t read my lease carefully and as a result ended up paying for some typhoon damage caused by a hole in a ventilator. Now I READ EVERY WORD, think through what I expect and add that to the document. I learned to make no assumptions. Recently we had a leak in an aged pipe imbedded in the wall. Our landlord expected us to pay until I showed him where I had crossed that out in the lease he had signed. Good luck in the future, Ed Hahn "

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