Rental home pool problem. What would you do?

[mrsklamc]

I think you are owed a refund for the pool heat, however, there is probably a clause in your contract that they aren't responsible for things that may be broken beyond their control. I think the pool heat would be an exception though because you can't charge separately for something that is completely never provided. As for an additional discount- was there not a separate resort pool you could have used?

 

[momto2inKC]

I think you are owed a refund for the pool heat, however, there is probably a clause in your contract that they aren't responsible for things that may be broken beyond their control. I think the pool heat would be an exception though because you can't charge separately for something that is completely never provided. As for an additional discount- was there not a separate resort pool you could have used?

I was wondering about that too. We've been getting price quotes on rental home/villas in the Disney area and i'm pretty sure all of them have been in a subdivision that has a community pool/spa.

 

[ibob52]

If you pay extra $$ for the pool to be heated and the pool was unable to be heated (broken equipment) then a Refund is expected.
I don't know why some of the posts on this topic are Not understanding that concept.
Yes to Refund of pool heat $$ ...
No to 10% surcharge.
My2cents

 

[nilseks]

I would look at it this way...beyond asking for a refund of the pool heating fee (which in my opinion is a given), you might ask to be compensated for any time you spent waiting around for them. For instance if they came 3 times and each time you had to be there, how much of your trip was that? Half a day? If so, I would ask for a half a day reduction. May or may not happen, but can't hurt to ask.

As for how Disney handles things--twice we have had issues at value resorts, and twice we have been compensated. Once our toilet kept overflowing (even when there really wasn't anything of 'substance' flushed). The repair person who came up to fix it the 2nd time swore in front of my 2 young children. So much for Disney magic. I take great care not to swear in front of my kids and I don't expect that from Disney. Yeah...compensated. The 2nd time we had terrible issues with housekeeping making a 'gossip hub' of the sidewalk in front of our room every day, despite very politely asking them to stop. We did not ASK to be compensated on that one but when we politely complained at the front desk, we were comped on the spot. Couldn't believe it, and that's why we stay on property. Incidentally we just stayed at OKW and the service was SO amazing and perfect but I am way off track here lol.

OP I hope you can get a fair resolution!

 

[sam_gordon]

If you pay extra $$ for the pool to be heated and the pool was unable to be heated (broken equipment) then a Refund is expected.
I don't know why some of the posts on this topic are Not understanding that concept.
Yes to Refund of pool heat $$ ...
No to 10% surcharge.
My2cents

I don't think anyone is denying the OP should get the extra money back they paid for the heated pool. It's the tacking on of 10% as a "punishment" that we have issues with.

Whoever suggested charging if the OP had to wait to allow the repairman in, that's not a bad idea, I just don't know if that was the case.

 

[Judique]

What would the owner owe if it stormed 24/7 for the duration of the vacation or if there was a cold front making it too cold to swim even with heat?

A storm would probably an act of God as is cold weather.

A broken pump is a maintenance issue and within the ability of an owner to remedy.

 

[Judique]

I don't think anyone is denying the OP should get the extra money back they paid for the heated pool. It's the tacking on of 10% as a "punishment" that we have issues with.

Whoever suggested charging if the OP had to wait to allow the repairman in, that's not a bad idea, I just don't know if that was the case.

That's the general idea - the OP did not get what they paid for and may have been inconvenienced. Therefore return of the pool heat money and possibly an offset in the rental of maybe 10% as stated by others - 10% is actually quite a small amount.

OP saves all year to take a vacation. Chooses a home with a pool so that swimming is a major form of relaxation and enjoyment. Rental does not deliver = reimbursement to me.

 

[mommy23kids]

OP Here,
Let me see if I can explain this better or confuse you even more now that I am back home and on a computer instead of my phone.
The spa never worked. (very important to my father who has MS, I would not have rented a house without one) when we first got there the jets on the pool were barely blowing which we thought was odd but didn't give it much thought at the time.
THe pool and spa not working was first called about on Monday (we arrived Saturday night) and the fact that the pump did not work was not recognized(or at least they did not tell us) until Friday even though we told them it was not filtering. They were out to look at it Thursday and Friday (and yes Friday I did wait around for them because I wanted to talk to them in person to see what the deal was).
The temporary fix which was that they said they programmed the pool to run 24 hours a day so the pump would not have to try to prime each day to run did not last but maybe a couple hours if that before it shut off again. With the pump not running properly all week, of course it starts looking dirty and by Saturday if was definitely a shade of green. I would not swim in a dirty pool. We have a pool and we never swim without the pump running. They did the temporary fix at 4pm friday and when we noticed it not working again we called but the pool company was already off for Christmas and nothing could be done til Monday. They day we left
I feel had maintance done there job and fixed/replaced the pump when they were made aware of the problem on Monday that we would have had use of the pool and this would not be an issue. It should only takes a few hours to replace a pump. I would not complain or even ask for anything back had this only been an issue a day or two of our vacation but we were not able to use the pool for 9 days. The home is advertised as a pool home and all we got was the home.
I understand that this was out of the owners control, but to me it looks like maintainace did not check the equiptment before we got there to make sure it was in working order. THis isn't just a complaint about the pool heat, the pool was actually broke and management failed to recognize it and fix it properly.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We have had a pump replaced. While it may only take a few hours....

It requires knowing it needs replacing, procuring the pump, and scheduling the replacement.

We had yet another issue in our rental last week. Took 3 companies to find someone available 2 days before Christmas. But it was an urgent issue.

It really stinks--but you are still trying to punish the owner.

For our pool--I won't call another company except the one that built our pool. They can come out for emergencies, but non-emergent issues (such as what you have posted) may take a couple of days. An emergent issue is defined as something that would cause damage to the pool if not remedied immediately. Only then will I call a back up if our regular company is unavailable.

I am sorry your vacation experienced this disappointment.

On the spa--is that part of the pool? If so, it is not a separate piece of equipment. So if the pool is "broke",'the pool will be as well.

As for swimming without a pump--we have done that frequently. We don't keep it running all of the time.

 

[sookie]

OP Here,
Let me see if I can explain this better or confuse you even more now that I am back home and on a computer instead of my phone.
The spa never worked. (very important to my father who has MS, I would not have rented a house without one) when we first got there the jets on the pool were barely blowing which we thought was odd but didn't give it much thought at the time.
THe pool and spa not working was first called about on Monday (we arrived Saturday night) and the fact that the pump did not work was not recognized(or at least they did not tell us) until Friday even though we told them it was not filtering. They were out to look at it Thursday and Friday (and yes Friday I did wait around for them because I wanted to talk to them in person to see what the deal was).
The temporary fix which was that they said they programmed the pool to run 24 hours a day so the pump would not have to try to prime each day to run did not last but maybe a couple hours if that before it shut off again. With the pump not running properly all week, of course it starts looking dirty and by Saturday if was definitely a shade of green. I would not swim in a dirty pool. We have a pool and we never swim without the pump running. They did the temporary fix at 4pm friday and when we noticed it not working again we called but the pool company was already off for Christmas and nothing could be done til Monday. They day we left
I feel had maintance done there job and fixed/replaced the pump when they were made aware of the problem on Monday that we would have had use of the pool and this would not be an issue. It should only takes a few hours to replace a pump. I would not complain or even ask for anything back had this only been an issue a day or two of our vacation but we were not able to use the pool for 9 days. The home is advertised as a pool home and all we got was the home.
I understand that this was out of the owners control, but to me it looks like maintainace did not check the equiptment before we got there to make sure it was in working order. THis isn't just a complaint about the pool heat, the pool was actually broke and management failed to recognize it and fix it properly.

I wouldn't say that it was "outside of his control". If he had maintained the property it would be fine.
He should expect that if the pool has a down time, then he will loose a rental. but you got stuck being there - so you should not be charged for at least the use of the pool.
OP, what happened?

 

[dislaney]

That's the general idea - the OP did not get what they paid for and may have been inconvenienced. Therefore return of the pool heat money and possibly an offset in the rental of maybe 10% as stated by others - 10% is actually quite a small amount.

OP saves all year to take a vacation. Chooses a home with a pool so that swimming is a major form of relaxation and enjoyment. Rental does not deliver = reimbursement to me.

The extra 10% would make up for the inconvenience of not having use of the pool or the spa for 9 days. I thought OP also said they were repeat customers- it would also create some goodwill and might cause OP to continue renting here or at least not bad mouth them.
I'm not saying she will bad mouth them, just for the record, but some people might.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

A storm would probably an act of God as is cold weather.

A broken pump is a maintenance issue and within the ability of an owner to remedy.

Exactly. It would be worded in the lease as "force majeure" and is out of the owner's control.

A maintenance issue is in the owner's control.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

1) We have lease homes in Ohio and vacation rentals in Florida.
2) We do our best for the renters of either.
. . . we proivide a decent place
. . . we make repairs as necessary
. . . we supply a good product at a fair price
3) However, we do not give refunds for repair issues.
4) Things break down and we try to remedy them quickly.
. . . eg. clogged toilets
. . . eg. broken tv's
. . . eg. air conditioning recharging
. . . eg. worn out light bulbs
5) Maybe your landlord or rental agent is different.
6) Ask, as you never know.

1) If I rented a home in Florida for a week, and
2) the AC was out for most of the trip, and
3) you did not give me a refund,
4) I would be outraged.

5) Now, if it was fixed the same day, no big deal--things happen.

 

[momto2inKC]

1) If I rented a home in Florida for a week, and
2) the AC was out for most of the trip, and
3) you did not give me a refund,
4) I would be outraged.

5) Now, if it was fixed the same day, no big deal--things happen.

Pool heat was 'optional'. I've not seen AC/heat for a house as an add on option for rentals. That's usually a given.

 

[averysmom]

I would look at how much it would have cost to rent a comparable home without at pool and spa in the area and ask for that price. If the house with the pool and spa is $1000 for the week and a comparable house without a house and a spa is $700, then IMO, OP you should be reimbursed not only for the pool heat, but also the $300 b/c the pool was not available for your family's use and you could have just booked a house without those amenities!

And FWIW, I have stayed in a hotel (twice) where the pool was broken / closed for repairs and BOTH times I have been given a reduced rate for my stay! (And I'm sure it was more than 10%)

 

[lurkernj]

I personally feel that 10% is low.

The OP rented this house that advertised a pool/spa with heat. Not just a pool/spa. I'm sure if heat wasn't an option, OP would have chosen another property so that they could comfortably swim in the pool/soak in the spa.

I say this even if the pump was working, which it wasn't, so then you have the green pool, even if someone was tempted to swim in the frigid water, they couldn't.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Pool heat was 'optional'. I've not seen AC/heat for a house as an add on option for rentals. That's usually a given.

I was responding specifically to Rusty's comments that he does not offer refunds for any reason and AC going out was one of his examples.

 

[mommy23kids]

I am a repeat customer to this home and would probably rent again.

To address a few comments, Another home we rented in Florida the AC DID go out one night. The problem was addressed very quickly the next morning and was fixed by the time we got back from the park. I believe the compressor or something like that had to be replaced. Yes we had one very uncomfortable night but since it was addressed quickly so I did not feel the need to complain.
In this particular home that I have the situation with now, the first time we rented it, the pool water was not heated when we got there. we called, and they came right out and turned it on. Again I felt no need to complain since the problem was addressed quickly.

I am not trying to "punish" the owner in any way. I am trying very hard to be fair and reasonable. I understand that some rental owners may not feel that this is a problem but it is a big deal to us. If I had been at a hotel and the pool was unusable for my stay we would change hotels. Had this been a broken TV, not a big deal, clogged toilet, well right above the toilets in this home, it says I will be charged $100 so guess that is my problem,lol. If the pool had only been down a day or two, I would not complain.

I have tried to find what the rate is for a home without a pool in the area for the week before Christmas but having trouble finding anything WITHOUT a pool. This was a 6 bedroom home in the Indian Creek neighborhood. I will admit that they gave us a pretty good rate for being a repeat customer but it still remains that good rate or not I would not have rented had I known it did not have a functioning pool.

Anyways my husband and I finally had a chance to sit down and compose an email to the owner and we are waiting for their reply.

Again thanks for all the opinions from both sides.

 

[Bob NC]

I don't think anyone is denying the OP should get the extra money back they paid for the heated pool. It's the tacking on of 10% as a "punishment" that we have issues with.

Whoever suggested charging if the OP had to wait to allow the repairman in, that's not a bad idea, I just don't know if that was the case.

It's not "punishment."

The OP would not have even considered renting this house if it didn't have a heated pool.

Obviously the OP deserves the pool heating surcharge back, not because of any punitive reasons, but rather because the surcharge is to pay the ELECTRIC BILL to heat the pool. This extra electricity need doesn't exist because the heater was not drawing electricity.

So, the "pool heat charge" should be refunded from the renters bill.

Now you have a situation where the renter didn't get what they paid for, "house with heated pool", and the only person happy after this whole deal is the house owner because they got their entire rental charge, (without even providing what was advertised.)

No, I don't find a 10% discount request to be out of line, I'd be asking for more.

 

[sam_gordon]

Now you have a situation where the renter didn't get what they paid for, "house with heated pool", and the only person happy after this whole deal is the house owner because they got their entire rental charge, (without even providing what was advertised.)

No, I don't find a 10% discount request to be out of line, I'd be asking for more.

No. Assuming the landlord does the right thing and refunds the heat cost, the renter DID get what they paid for... "house with pool."

And let me just say, I have no problem with a REQUEST for a discount, I just don't think it should be EXPECTED. And how do you come up with 10%? Why not 5? 15?