Troublesome Landlord

Can someone please guide us if or not the landlord is supposed to repair appliances he provided in the flat? We unfortunately have a very sneaky& sly landlord who among many other things flogged old broken down appliances - fridge, washing machine&acs when we shifted in Nov 06. Insists on sending his dodgy handyman who only patchwork repairs so it breaks down again in weeks..we are past the 1month time frame when they are supposed to foot the repair bill - now they say we must pay their handyman - cutting the cost from rent will be breach of contract - right? The list is long - even in the 1st month wheels of the cupboard(it's on rails) broke-sent in Mr Dodgy to fix it who scotch taped it back - like before. Landlady said we should have checked behind cupboard doors before signing the lease..that's how sneaky they are! Any ideas how to deal with them? Their rent was due yesterday.

You are probably safe in assuming that you are not liable for improving the state of the premises/appliances. What does your rental contract say? My advice would be to read it. Preferably before you sign it - next time.

Also, by virtue of you having posted this question, I'd assume that you are fairly capable of using the internet. Why don't you look up the relevant ordinance on the HK govt website? Here's what I did: Type in "www.google.com" into the address bar. In the little box, type in "HK laws". You will then see a link to "http://www.legislation.gov.hk/eng/home.htm" Have a look here. Or, even better, type in "landlords liablility for repairs hk" search result #10 will take you to this useful little pdf file: http://www.rvd.gov.hk/en/doc/SummaryGuide-e.pdf It appears that the landlord's liability for repairs depends on your written rental agreement. Stop being lazy and look yourself.