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A Question of Liability
In 1987 when I still lived in England, a close friend of mine bought a lovely apartment for £70,000 (€105,000). It was built in the 1960s and, on first inspection, the building seemed to be in excellent condition. Part of the reason for the premium price was the location on the bank of the River Thames, in a very sought-after area within the commuter belt, about 50km south west of London. The apartment was on the top floor of six, with a panoramic view of the Thames - truly, her dream home.
Less than a month later her dream became a nightmare. Southern England was hit by the most violent storm in living memory, with gusts of wind in excess of 100 mph (160 km/h). When the storm finally subsided, by friend's apartment was wrecked. Where the roof had once been there was now a huge gaping hole. Of the top floor apartments only two had roof damage.
Whereas in Finland individuals are protected by the umbrella of the Housing Company, in England each individual apartment is the owner's own responsibility. That is to say, if you live on the top floor, you have sole responsibility for the roof above you. Consequently, my unfortunate friend had no option but to pay out a further £5,000 (€7,000) for the roof repairs. Despite her unhappy experience, however, I was thrilled to buy my first flat in Finland. Until recently, I believed the Finnish system to be altruistic, with the Housing Association taking shared responsibility with the owners for property management and maintenance - now I am not so sure!
Last year, I decided to purchase a second, larger apartment in the same building and to rent my existing one. I was fortunate that a friend knew a lady who wanted to rent an apartment in the Lahti area. Shortly afterwards, in August 2005, the lady moved in. She was an ideal tenant - clean, quiet and always paid her rent on time. She was happy, and I was happy. That is until last December when she became ill with mild bronchitis. The doctor said that the probable cause of this illness was microbes in the apartment.
My tenant called the Housing Administrator, not once but twice. He was not at all sympathetic, and refused to come to check the apartment. Instead, he suggested that she should open the window to increase ventilation. Understandably dissatisfied, she then called Lahti City's Environment Department, who came to test the air quality. Sure enough, there was slight evidence of water damage and microbes both in the kitchen and bedroom.
According to the Housing Administrator the water had come either through an outside wall or an open window, which means he is not responsible. This is a total mystery to me. How can water come through an outside wall? And the window has a metal frame outside specifically designed to prevent such an occurrence. In February my tenant, who now kept the window open, which had indeed improved the air quality, decided that in the interest of her health it was better that she moved out.
When I complained to the Housing Administrator that his inaction had led to my tenant moving out, again he was unsympathetic stating, “your tenant was too sensitive …………. the tester is an idiot”.
I have since discovered that the parquet in the apartment had been laid on top of two layers of plastic mats. A leaking roof which the Housing Association has been slow to repair and a small leakage from the dishwasher resulted in water being trapped between the mats and parquet.
The old parquet and two layers of plastic mats have now been removed from the entire apartment; the floor disinfected; and a new single layer of laminate laid. The floor is now microbe free. However, because the environmental health office was called in, and by law I am required to declare as such, several potential buyers, have been deterred from actually buying the apartment. The Housing Administrator remains intransigent.
I wonder if anyone else has had a similar experience? Mike Bangle is the owner of Talking English language consultancy and can be contacted at mike.bangle(at)phnet.fi
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