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🇻🇪 Venezuela /Disasters & Emergencies

Experts point out why property owners must cover repairs and return deposits after earthquakes

From El Nacional · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Venezuelan law obligates property owners to cover all repair costs, offer rent reductions, and return security deposits to tenants following the June 24 earthquakes.
  • Experts cite the Civil Code, classifying the event as force majeure, which exempts tenants from financial responsibility and automatically dissolves leases for totally destroyed properties.
  • For partially damaged buildings, owners must proportionally adjust monthly rent, and in co-owned buildings, owners are responsible for both private units and common area repairs, unless tenant negligence is proven.

Property owners in Venezuela are legally bound to bear the full cost of repairs, provide rent abatements, and refund security deposits to tenants affected by the double earthquake on June 24, according to civil law specialists.

The tenant no longer has to pay rent, and the owner bears the loss.

— Cora FaríasExplaining the legal implications for landlords when a property is completely destroyed due to the earthquakes.

The earthquakes damaged at least 885 buildings and caused 189 structural collapses across Venezuela. Experts classify the event as force majeure under the Venezuelan Civil Code, which absolves tenants of financial liability. Lawyer Cora Farías explained that if a property is completely lost, the lease agreement is immediately terminated because the object of the obligation ceases to exist. "The tenant no longer has to pay rent, and the owner bears the loss," she stated.

Lawyers Miriam Contreras and María Alejandra Parra concurred that the destruction of the property automatically dissolves the contractual bond. Contreras added that since no fault can be attributed to the tenant, "the landlord would have to return the money because the owner has already lost the property and cannot attribute it to anyone."

the landlord would have to return the money because the owner has already lost the property and cannot attribute it to anyone.

— Miriam ContrerasClarifying the obligation of landlords to return security deposits in cases of total property loss.

For properties with partial damage, the law mandates proportional adjustments to monthly rent. Parra referenced Article 1590 of the Civil Code, which requires a rent reduction if repairs exceed 20 days. Farías recommended that parties negotiate a reduction based on the deterioration. In buildings under horizontal property regimes, owners face the dual burden of restoring their private units and contributing to the repair of common areas. Contreras emphasized that "the tenant in this case assumes no responsibility of any kind," citing Article 1272 of the Civil Code, which exempts tenants from compensating for damages resulting from a fortuitous event. However, Parra cautioned that if an owner can prove tenant negligence, such as failing to report a leak that weakened the structure, responsibility could shift to the occupant. Specialists also stressed that only state agencies can certify a building's habitability to prevent owners from concealing structural flaws.

the tenant in this case assumes no responsibility of any kind.

— ContrerasStating the tenant's lack of responsibility for damages in co-owned buildings following the earthquakes.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Nacional in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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