A retired couple in Oyten, Lower Saxony, is going through something dramatic. The two, who moved to the city to care for their sick mother, have not had hot water since Easter.
What do you do if you can no longer live properly in your own apartment? According to the “Kreizeitung”, E. Tohlen and his wife have been living in their apartment in Oyten without heating or hot water since Easter. The misery arose when the landlord refused to order heating oil because he was in a dispute with another tenant.
The tenants tried unsuccessfully to pressure the landlord to solve the problem several times and had to wash themselves with water from the kettle. Although the landlord is violating the Civil Code by turning off the hot water supply, no one seems to be able to help the tenants. According to “Haufe”, the landlord is obliged to provide the tenants with warm water – even in summer.
According to Tohlen, all five inhabited apartments in the run-down apartment building are affected by the failure of the heating system. This also affects old people who need care. Some tenants have contacted the Tenants Protection Association and others are trying to initiate urgent proceedings. Nevertheless, the process takes months and the tenants are apparently being left in the lurch.
“As long as ‘those up there’ don’t pay their bill, no oil will be ordered,” said the landlord, according to Tohlen. He believes that the disputed tenant is refusing to make the requested additional payment due to an opaque and flat-rate utility bill. According to the “Kreiszeitung” there is only one water meter for the entire house, which further exacerbates the problem.
The landlord, who lives in Bremen-Osterholz, refused to comment on the incident. As a result, tenants felt helpless and humiliated. Despite their efforts to improve their living situation, including personal investments of around 7,000 euros, they are still left in the cold. They had spent money sprucing up the apartment and sprucing up the garden.
The pensioner says to the “Kreisszeitung”: “We did that for ourselves, so that we feel comfortable.” He describes the fact that the landlord is now treating them like that as “madness.” The couple are now planning to leave the apartment as soon as possible If they find an affordable alternative, “we’ll move out of here immediately.”
As the couple further describes, they had to move quickly when looking for an apartment two years ago. The two had moved from Bremen to Oyten to live closer to their mother, who was in need of care. In fact, finding an apartment for seniors is anything but easy.
As a study by Immobilienscout24 shows, pensioners have the most difficult time finding an apartment. Shared apartments and single parents with children also find it difficult to find living space.
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