We are going to address a truly complex issue that often leads to various discussions in the field of urban residential leases: the question of who is responsible for covering the cost of repairs in rented dwellings.
As established in Article 21.4 of Law 29/1994 of 24 November, on Urban Leases (the “LAU”):
“Minor repairs required due to ordinary wear and tear of the dwelling shall be borne by the tenant.”
This means that small damages resulting from the ordinary use of the dwelling that arise during the term of the contract must be repaired at the tenant’s expense. For this to apply, a number of conditions must be met: (i) they must be repairs, (ii) they must be minor repairs or replacements. Regarding the cost, some court rulings have considered as “minor repairs” those costing less than 150 euros; (iii) they must result from wear and tear due to ordinary use of the dwelling.
The limit lies in the type of item affected, as the landlord is obliged to make the necessary repairs to keep the dwelling in habitable condition for the agreed use, according to Article 21.1 of the LAU:
“The landlord shall be obliged to carry out, without the right to increase the rent, all necessary repairs to maintain the dwelling in habitable conditions for the agreed use, except when the deterioration is attributable to the tenant according to Articles 1,563 and 1,564 of the Civil Code.”
Therefore, when it comes to repairs affecting the habitability of the dwelling that are not attributable to the tenant, it is the landlord who must assume the cost, regardless of the amount, as established in Article 1,554.2 of the Civil Code, by which the landlord is obliged “To carry out during the lease all necessary repairs to keep the property fit for the use to which it has been destined.”
For illustrative purposes, below are some rulings from our courts:
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Judgment of the Provincial Court of Pontevedra, 31 October 2011, held that after 7 years of tenancy, an apartment needed to be repainted and the landlord had to bear the cost. However, repairs such as fixing a toilet tank, replacing taps, or unclogging a bathtub had to be borne by the tenant.
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Judgment of the Provincial Court of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 29 March 2004, held that replacements of doors, a gas water heater, a mattress, and a bed base had to be assumed by the tenant, as they were not essential repairs for the habitability of the dwelling.
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Judgment of the Provincial Court of Burgos, 3 March 2006, held that repairs to heating, the water system, and the toilet tank had to be borne by the tenant.
Furthermore, our courts have considered the following repairs to be the tenant’s responsibility:
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Electrical damages, such as bulbs, sockets, fluorescent lights, plugs, and switches.
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Plumbing damages, such as toilet tanks, taps, and pipe unclogging. These refer to damages in everyday-use items or caused precisely by such use, excluding those in the installation itself.
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Damages to household items, such as broken bed bases, blinds, locks, and door glass.
Nevertheless, given the endless variety of situations arising from the daily use of a dwelling, the existing court rulings are equally numerous, making it necessary to consider that, beyond general rules like those mentioned, each situation must be assessed individually.