A House to Rent

If you are planning on renting an apartment, you should ask yourself: should I trust my landlord, should I use my common sense, or should I only trust the written word in the contract?

My answer is very simple: You should use the combination of your common sense and the written word of the contract. Do not trust your landlord, even if apparently he seems like a nice guy and his promises before signing the contract sound very clear and rational to you.

This is the case that was decided by the Honorable Judge Mr. Yaron Bashan in Tel Aviv Small Claims Court regarding the case of Grossman vs. Leibowitch.  Mr.Grossman, the plaintiff, rented an apartment from Mrs. Leibowitch, the defendant.

Already in the pre-negotiations of signing the contract, it was clear that the apartment was in very bad condition, almost uninhabitable. The plaintiff claimed that the defendant (the landlord) had "specifically promised" that she would fix all the major defects in the property including: broken countertops, leaking pipes, serious mold, broken cabinets, broken windows and damaged electrical outlets.

From the lawsuit we learn that the plaintiff claimed that all the defects mentioned above caused the apartment to be uninhabitable and the only reason the plaintiff agreed to rent the apartment was because the defendant promised that she would fix all the defects within days of signing the contract. The plaintiff also attached pictures that proved beyond a doubt that the apartment was indeed in horrible condition.

The lawsuit that preceded our case

Preceding  this lawsuit, the landlord (here the defendant) had sued Mr. Grossman for "Claim leased evacuation" claiming that Mr. Grossman was late in paying his rent, acted as if he was the owner of the apartment by hiring professionals to fix the defects in the apartment , and other complaints. The essence of this lawsuit claim was that Mr. Grossman had misled the landlord, Mrs. Leibowitch, agreeing to pay her a reduced rent of only 2400 shekels per month instead of a much higher rent more in line with the market in that area. Immediately after moving in, Mr. Grossman began hiring professionals to fix all the defects in the apartment, deducting these expenses from the monthly rent. Mrs. Leibowitch claimed that Mr. Grossman`s attitude showed beyond a doubt that from the very beginning he had planned to act fraudulently.

Let us remember that at this stage there was not one word in the contract indicating that the landlord had agreed to do renovations to the apartment. In the contract it was explicitly stated that "the renter had inspected the property before signing the contract and found it to his satisfaction".

Going back to our case

Our plaintiff, Mr. Grossman, also claimed that with time the defects in the apartment deteriorated and other problems arose and only as a result of those new problems had he hired the professionals. The Honorable Judge did not accept this claim. He believed that the money spent was indeed for the existing defects and not for new problems as the plaintiff claimed.

The Honorable Judge stated in his decision that there was no doubt that "The property was not fit for human habitation" , even though he could not deny that there may have been some deterioration during the rental period. Even if this was true, there was no way to quantify this deterioration monetarily.

The Honorable Judge clearly stated that any oral promise as claimed by the plaintiff cannot stand against a written contract (only written evidence can be brought against a written contract) as was this case where a contract was signed by both parties.

After an extended period in which both sides presented their case, the Honorable Judge decided that "indeed the plaintiff rented an apartment that was uninhabitable, not only from a safety aspect but also from a sanitary aspect".  There was no doubt that the plaintiff signed the contract and declared his willingness to rent the apartment, and in doing so waived his rights to any future claims regarding the condition of the apartment. The Honorable Judge added that according to the contract, the case should never have been brought to court.

I think that the highlight of this court case is the final statement of the Honorable Judge in which he regrets that the law permits an uninhabitable apartment such as this one to even to be available to rent when the minimum safety and sanitary conditions are not met. The Honorable Judge could not find in Israeli law any way to require a landlord to repair even an unlivable apartment in a case where even the tenant himself agreed to lease the apartment as is, waiving any future claim regarding the apartment`s condition.

As a result, the Honorable Judge decided for the defendant stating that it is a pity that the State of Israel has no regulations regarding the rental market in Israel.

A word of wisdom

Do not think for a second that this is an extreme or unique case. These types of cases are being disputed every day in Israeli court in light of the lack of available apartments to rent in Israel. Landlords are dividing already small apartments into even smaller units, without the existing foundations able to support the increased demand on the structure thus leading to problems in plumbing, electricity, etc.

Sadly, landlords in the Greater Tel Aviv and Jerusalem areas are turning even storage areas without proper ventilation and plumbing (and sewage) into apartments and renting for exorbitant amounts.

Although I understand the distress and the need for inexpensive living quarters, I strongly advise not to be tempted to rent an obviously uninhabitable apartment based on any promises. Be wise and use your common sense. It should be clear that if the landlord had any plans to repair, he would have done it before renting it to you because he could then be receiving higher rent!

Sincerely,
 

Tzvi Szajnbrum, Attorney at Law