Breach of Contract?

Hi everyone, need some urgent advice here.


Me and my fiance have been living in a flat since January 2009. What we originally thought was a beautiful place has turned out to be an absolute disaster. The landlord spent the minimal amount of money fixing up the place, and we've had serious mold and water leakage problems on at least two previous occasions, including one which left over an inch of water on our floor.


Recently, we've had a massive amount of mold building up in the place, and the walls are also beginning to crust from water within the walls. I have a sensitivity to mold and asthma problems, so you can imagine how frustrating this has been for us.


A contractor recently visited the place and we were informed that the bathroom has to be completely gutted because of a piping problem that is causing the water problems.


Our landlord, who works overseas and uses a local real estate agent to do all of his work, has not recommended a plan of action, despite us emailing him asking him what he suggests we should do at this point. And his go-to real estate agent has not specified what our landlord wants us to do either.


We are fed up, and we want to leave. But we don't feel like we should have to give a formal 2-months notice in light of the situation. This is not a liveable condition, it's a health hazard, and our landlord has not suggested a plan of action (ie., setting a date for gutting the bathroom, compensating us with rent while the construction is underway).


My question is: does this constitute a breach of contract? Should we be forced to pay two more months of rent even though we are living in such terrible conditions?


Please help!!!

frankly if it's really terrible, just move out and stop paying rent (i.e. forfeit your deposit).


i guess you could go through a lenghty process of negotiating a solution, but i would not bother if you have health issues.


if you want to negotiate, the best you can do is lowering your rent (imho). i.e. write a letter to the landlord saying that if no action plan is in place and executed until x date, you will assume that the landlord agrees that the rent is lowered by x percent. something to that effect.

That's just so frustrating. If I want to leave early, I have to forfeit my deposit even though the landlord is 100 percent responsible for a situation that has made staying flat out dangerous? So tenants basically have no rights in Hong Kong to protect themselves against situations like this? Sigh:( FRUSTRATED!!!!

Excuse me but the place you live in is, frankly, unliveable!


The landlord has not lived up to his part of the contract to provide a decent premises for you to rent, so I would definately classify this as a breach of contract.


I don't know the legal recourse you can take but my first move would be to ask a policeman to come around as a witness, who can possibly say that he's seen the condition of the walls etc - so at least you have an official report from that point of view.


I believe that you should be allowed to move out immediately and should be able to get your deposit back - even if this may mean approaching the Small Claims Tribunal.


Can you also contact the real estate agent who handles the place?


Also, try to find the relevant government department for advice - when they answer the phone, they can be very helpful.


Sorry I can't provide any legal advice, but I certainly agree it's a breach of contract.

even if it is a breach of contract and he goes to the small claims court to get the deposit back, i think it's not worth the hassle (except you rent is like 50k/month) and i would just move on

I think the Small Claims Tribunal is not toooo much of a hassle... I think the main problem would be trying to find the right person who can come in and say "yup, this is uninhabitable", therefore the contract is breached.


I had a friend who went to the Small Claims Tribunal - she said it was very easy and fast. BUT, the tribunal has no power. So even though they ruled in her favour, she still can't get the stupid landlord to return her deposit!!!

First of all, the mold is not really the problem of the landlord. Most flats in HK have mold at this time of year (it's a bit like blaming a single cockroach on the landlord). The easiest way to get rid of mold is to get some bleach and water it down in a bucket. Soak a cloth in the diluted bleach and run it over the mold. That will sort it out for a few days. As for the water leakage, can't comment. It may be the landlord's responsibilty or it could be from a flat nearby. You could always use a dehumidifier but that would push up your electricity bill. As it's a structural issue, it's not really your fault. It doesn't sound as if it is uninhabitable and I should think your chances of claiming breach of contract are slim. The cheapest way is to move and forfeit your deposit. However, there are very few mold-free properties at this time of year and rents have gone up quite a bit.

Thanks for all the feedback. Loyd, I agree with you that mold is a general problem in Hong Kong. I've been in Hong Kong for nearly five years and have had my fair share of cleaning mold during this time of year. However, the water leakage that is causing the walls to crumble is also causing excessive mold problems all inside the walls. We know this because a section of the wall that is crumbling has mold on the inside. We always have a dehumidifier, in every room of the house, running all day long, so trust me when I say that this is definitely not like blaming a cockroach on the landlord.


The contractor who the landlord sent to look at the flat confirmed that it was a pipe problem from our bathroom. So it is the landlord's responsibility to fix it. I guess the term uninhabitable means different things to everyone. For me, I suppose it comes down to the fact that when I am waking up with asthma attacks in the middle of the night because of the mold growing on the inside of the walls, it's definitely gone beyond the line of liveable!


Still waiting to hear back from the landlord on when we can move out. Fingers crossed.

I know what you mean about the walls. It's not just a simple mould problem. I also lived in a flat that the plaster started crumbling because it was so wet and of course there was the mould relating to that. It was in one room only and the landlord had to fix the roof on the outside where the water was leaking in, and then replastered and repainted the walls - then it was fine.

Move out to Tung Chung.

Rents are far cheaper, and the flats are modern enough to have few mold problems.


Many here are completely blinker, and somehow in love their beloved midlevels lives. Do yourselves a favor - and open your eyes to the wider world.

All sorted! Landlord agreed to early release. Thank God! Thanks for all the advice!