MOST COMMON QUESTIONS

MOISTURE

In your home, a collection of moisture occurs due to various causes.

• building moisture

• domestic moisture

• moisture from outside

All this moisture must be removed daily by ventilation.

VENTILATION

The air in the house becomes polluted by, for example, cooking odours and smoke. The air becomes humid due to the presence of people, pets and plants, and due to activities such as showering, washing dishes, drying laundry, cooking and cleaning. About 10 litres of moisture are produced in a house every day! It is therefore necessary to ventilate constantly. After all, enough fresh air must enter and the damp and polluted air must leave the house again. If this does not happen, the indoor air can become unhealthy and moisture problems such as mould can occur.

Your house is insulated and airtight to prevent draughts and heat loss. Therefore, you should take extra care to ventilate sufficiently.

VENTILATE

"Ventilating well" means making sure that fresh air can constantly enter the house and that air is also constantly removed. In the old days, when homes were not so well insulated and tightly sealed, ventilation was automatic, so to speak, through the many gaps.

The ventilation system in your home removes polluted and humid air. Fresh air should be supplied again through grilles.

Besides ventilation, it is wise to air the house every day.

Airing is done by opening a window completely for fifteen minutes, after turning down the heating. In bedrooms, for instance, this can be done in the morning. In the living room, in the evening before you go to sleep. Especially in spring and autumn, when it's damp outside but you haven't turned the heating on much, airing is very important. And of course also if you have painted, or had a party.

Never turn off mechanical ventilation completely. Not even when you go on holiday. At least always leave the installation running at the lowest setting. The installation is designed for this and the power consumption for this is minimal. Regularly turning off the mechanical ventilation will definitely lead to moisture and mould problems in your home.

ADVICE

Always open a window or ventilation grille when the mechanical ventilation is switched on in the highest setting so that sufficient air can be sucked in.

Turn the mechanical ventilation to a higher setting when using the kitchen or bathroom. After using the kitchen or bathroom, leave the ventilation on a higher setting for about 20 minutes so that all cooking odours and/or produced moisture can escape.

After bathing or showering, it is wise to remove water droplets on tiled walls and floors as early as possible with a squeegee or cloth. As a result, the bathroom will dry faster and limescale deposits will be significantly reduced.

Even when it is freezing, ventilating and airing your home remains necessary.

Regular condensation on the windows is an indication of excessive humidity in your home.

RANGE HOOD (IF PRESENT)

To use the range hood, the fan switch in the kitchen should be set to the highest position. After cooking, leave the fan on the highest setting for 15 minutes so that most of the cooking odours have been extracted.

You will hear almost no sound as the cooker hood is motorless. 

As a tenant, you should maintain the plantings such as shrubs and trees yourself. This also includes pruning the plants in time and preventing nuisance. If you received a garden with plants on transfer, you should maintain it yourself. The garden should always be used as an ornamental garden and is not intended for storing goods, trailers or caravans, etc.

TREES

Your landlord will try to avoid cutting down trees as much as possible. If there is a nuisance, we will consider whether the nuisance can be remedied by maintaining the tree in the form of pruning. If this is not possible, permission must be requested from the municipality in the form of a felling licence. A felling licence must be requested for trees that have a circumference of 30cm or more at 1.30m above ground level (this may vary from one municipality to another).Danger to property If a tree or large shrub is close to the façade of your property, you should contact us. The tree or shrub may pose a danger to the building. We will assess whether the tree should be removed and by whom.

NUISANCE FENCE

If problems occur, you may be required to move your hedge up to 50 centimetres from the property boundary. Trees should be placed at least two metres from the property boundary; bear in mind that trees can grow very large. If trees are a nuisance to the neighbourhood, you may be obliged to cut them down. Sometimes this leads to high costs.

If you experience nuisance from overhanging greenery, we advise you to contact your neighbours first. It is understandable that greenery hangs over and causes nuisance, but simply cutting it down can cause an unpleasant situation. Please consult with each other beforehand.

We would like to point out that any proceedings between parties are many times more annoying than trying to solve the problem together first. Experience shows that after a possible court ruling, the parties still do not achieve the desired result and living enjoyment. 

Wooden window frames need maintenance just like the exterior. The moisture produced in the house will also be able to soak into poorly or untreated wood.

It is therefore necessary to maintain the inside properly and apply a coat of paint where necessary. If this is not done, moisture can migrate into the wood and rot from the inside. This benefits the lifespan of window and door frames. Interior painting should always be finished in a white shade. This includes the colours RAL 9010 and RAL 9001. Also, the finish should be applied neatly and with the right treatments.

In almost every home, shrinkage cracks and shrinkage seams occur over time.

Shrinkage cracks along ceilings and in corners will unfortunately remain visible until you take out new wallpaper or another wall finish. You can seal them with a paintable acrylic sealant. You can read how to apply the sealant on the tube of sealant.

Your property manager will not order the repair of shrinkage cracks, this is inherent in the construction of a house or flat.

Water locks / siphons in drains connected to the sewer system prevent odour nuisance. The water in siphons that are not used often can evaporate, causing odour problems. If you pour a little salad oil into these siphons, the evaporation process goes much slower so that odour nuisance is prevented.

Regularly empty and clean these odour traps to reduce blockages.

Stop and drain valves in water pipes have a tendency to get stuck over time. This is because they are then underused. We advise you to open and close these stop and drain taps at least twice a year.

It is also advisable to spray the rotating part of the taps with Teflon spray.

If you discover a leak in your home, you can check for the water pipe yourself. First, close all taps. If the cog on the water meter keeps turning, it is likely that there is a leak in the water pipe. This is because the water meter cog moves at the slightest use of water.

If the leak is not your fault, you can report it via your tenant portal. 

Silicone joints are used at connections of tiling in the bathroom, at the countertop in the kitchen and at glazing, among others.

It is important to regularly check whether the waterproofing function of these joints is still in order. If not, remove the sealant completely, clean and degrease the joints and reapply the sealant.

If the toilet's water keeps running, it is usually due to the float. Replacing a float falls under "minor repairs at the tenant's expense".

KITCHEN SINK AND SINK DRAIN

If a sink or sink drain in the kitchen is clogged, we recommend first checking that there is no dirt, food residue or hair in or under the grate. You can use a screwdriver to loosen the grate and remove the dirt. Then, if there is still a blockage, you can check the gooseneck of the drain pipe. You can unscrew the cap at the bottom of the gooseneck by hand and use a screwdriver to gently remove the dirt. Put a bucket under the gooseneck, as chances are that dirt and water will spill out.

CLOGGED TOILET

If the water in the toilet bowl no longer drains, first check that something has not fallen into the toilet. Consider, for example, a toilet cube. This gets stuck in the gooseneck causing a blockage.

CLOGGED DRAIN AND SHOWER DRAIN

Shower drains are usually clogged by hair and soap scum. If you loosen the grate of the shower drain, you can easily remove hairs and soap scum. Sometimes the grate is very stuck and difficult to loosen. You can try using a plunger to remove the dirt from the drain.

CLOG NOT CLEARED, NOW WHAT?

If you have not managed to clear the blockage yourself using the information above, we recommend the following:

Blockages in horizontal drain pipes (in both houses and flats) are contractually the responsibility of the tenant*. For this, you should take care of calling in a specialised unblocking company. If they find that the blockage is due to a construction defect, you should send us the report of the findings. Please note, however, that you will have to pay the invoice to the unblocking company yourself at all times. After receiving the report, we will assess whether the costs will be reimbursed to you.

*In apartment complexes, the cleaning and unblocking of gutters, drains and pipes may be included in the service costs. This is then also stated in the tenancy agreement under "supplies and services". 

FILLING INSTRUCTIONS FOR A CENTRAL HEATING COMBI BOILER

Note: Switch the appliance off first. Only switch the appliance on again after filling and bleeding. The pressure in the installation should be between 1 and 2 bar when cold.

This can be read on the display or on the pressure gauge.

If the pressure is too low, the installation should be topped up. The procedure for this varies for each boiler but broadly boils down to the following steps:

• Switch off the appliance

• Connect the filling hose to the water tap and first fill it with water so that the air is removed

• Unscrew the cap from the boiler's filling valve first (optional)

• Connect the filling hose to the filling tap on the appliance

• Open the water tap and then the filling tap

• Fill the appliance to a water pressure of 2 bar (for cold installation)

• Close both taps

• Vent the appliance

• The venting point of the appliance is usually on top of the appliance

• Check whether the water pressure is still between 1 and 2 bar after venting.

• Then switch the appliance on again

USER MANUAL

We would like to give you some advice on heating the central heating.

• How to handle malfunctions

• Installation pressure and topping up

• Bleeding the installation

Further tips and advice:

• The night reduction

• Daytime heating

• Heating in all rooms of your home

• Room temperature

HOW TO HANDLE MALFUNCTIONS

If your boiler breaks down, first check the following points:

• Is there voltage at the central heating boiler socket? If not, check the fuses in the meter cupboard

• Is the installation pressure sufficient? If not, top up the installation

• Is the gas tap open? Check main valve and appliance valve. If not, open them

• The boiler has a reset button. In the event of a fault, press this reset button first and wait to see what the appliance does next.

If the boiler continues to malfunction (regularly) and there is sufficient pressure on the installation, contact the central heating engineer or Max Rental.

If a fault indication appears on the boiler display, it is important to pass it on to the installer.

INSTALLATION PRESSURE AND TOPPING UP

Check the installation pressure regularly. It should be between 1 and 2 Bar. If you need to top up, first switch off the boiler and wait until the temperature of the water has dropped to about 30° C. Then top up. Never top up the installation above 2 Bar!

BLEEDING THE INSTALLATION

When bleeding the installation, first heat the boiler to a water temperature of about 80° C. Then switch off the boiler and wait 15 to 20 minutes before venting the installation. The air in the installation will then have plenty of time to rise to its highest point.

THE NIGHT TEMPERATURE

We recommend setting the room thermostat at night no more than 4 to 5° C lower than the day temperature, for example setting the room thermostat to 18 degrees.

SWITCHING OVER DAY

If someone is at home all day, the room thermostat is usually set a few degrees higher. However, if no one is at home during the day, it is advisable to set the room thermostat to 20 degrees. This way, it is not necessary to cover a large temperature difference in the evening and has the following advantages:

The house is at the desired temperature faster in the evening, i.e. more comfortable

It is more favourable in terms of consumption/fuel costs

HEATING IN ALL ROOMS OF YOUR HOME

Do not heat all rooms of your home unnecessarily. Keep the temperatures of unused rooms low, as this will save you heating costs.

ROOM TEMPERATURE

Remember that the specified room temperature in the rooms outside the living room can only be achieved if the room thermostat is set to 22° C.

HEATING COSTS FROM BLOCK HEATING OR DISTRICT HEATING

Do you pay heating costs to the landlord? Then this is an advance payment! The final account of the actual consumption is provided by the VVE (owners' association) and is always at the tenant's expense. 

A power cut is very annoying, Tip: Place a torch in or near your meter box with (spare) batteries.

A power failure is often caused by overloading a certain group or short-circuiting household appliances. The plug test can be used to find the place or device causing the fault.

The plug test:

• Switch the light switch(s) to off and unplug the plug(s) in the room(s) where the power has failed

• Switch the (earth leakage) switch back on or insert a new fuse or plug.

• One by one, place the plug(s) back in the socket(s) and turn the light switch(s) back on. If the fuse/plug jumps again when plugging in a particular plug or switching on the lights, you know which device is causing the short circuit.

• If this test does not yield any results, then send us a ticket via your tenant portal. 

ADJUSTING KITCHEN CUPBOARD DOORS

Over time, a cabinet door often sinks a little to the side, away from the hinge, due to its own weight. The hinges that secure kitchen cupboard doors usually have three adjustment options: they can be changed in height (height adjustment), horizontally (plane adjustment) and in terms of the angle at which they hang against the cupboard interior (depth adjustment). The adjustment is done with a screwdriver. The door is adjusted while hanging on the cabinet. You therefore do not need to remove it.

THE LEVELLING ADJUSTMENT

If the kitchen cupboard door has sagged slightly to the side, away from the hinge, due to its own weight, it is usually sufficient to adjust the leveling. On most hinges, this screw is located slightly off centre of the hinge towards the door. On some hinges, the adjusting screw is covered with a metal plate that you can easily remove with a screwdriver.

When adjusting the level, start at the top and turn the screw on the left-hand hinge slightly to the right. Then turn the adjusting screw on the bottom hinge slightly to the left so that the gap widens there. Half a turn is often enough; repeat this for the right cupboard. Just try it out; if you turn the wrong way, the door will at most hang even more crooked.

ADJUSTING THE HEIGHT

With very slanted doors it may be necessary to lift the entire door slightly. With standard hinges, the height can be adjusted by fixing the mounting plate. This is fastened to the cupboard wall with two screws that can still shift slightly vertically. By loosening both screws, you can thus adjust the height of the cupboard door. To adjust the height, always loosen the screws of both mounting plates. With some hinges, however, complete loosening of the mounting plate is not necessary.

ADJUSTING THE DOOR IN DEPTH

If the door extends forward at the top or bottom, the depth is changed. The screw that does this is at the very back of the hinge on the cupboard wall. But beware: this screw also secures a standard hinge to the mounting plate. If you loosen the screws of both hinges as far as possible (it is not necessary to unscrew them), you can lift the door out of its hinges. The entire door is pulled forward slightly and then comes out. To put it back in, slide the door onto the mounting plates and tighten the screws until the depth adjustment at the top and bottom is the same.

ADJUSTING REBATED DOORS

Rebate doors have the advantage of being quick and simple to fit. The big difference compared to a single-pane door is the visible side of the door, which is placed half in the frame and half on top of the upstand frame. A rebated door has two or three holes where the hinges can be screwed in easily. An overlay door can only be fitted in the frame in one way, the position of the hinges is leading. Adjusting a French door is easy by turning the hinges in or out of the door or frame. The hinges have self-tapping threads at both ends. Screw the hollow part of the hinge into the overlay door and the pointed part of the hinge into the frame. Ensure that all hinges are turned evenly into the frame and overlay door. Hang the overlay door in the hinges and try to close the door gently. While fitting the door, overlap doors can clamp, hang just right or hang too wide in the frame. If the overlay door sticks on the hinge side, turn the pointed part of the hinge out of the frame a few turns. If the frame sticks on the lock side, turn the hollow part of the hinge into the overlay door. If the doors are too loose, work the other way round. Doors that are too high can be shortened at the bottom. If the push-front door scuffs against laminate, parquet or carpet, a plastic ring between the hinge parts is a handy and quick solution.

POSSIBLE DISRUPTIONS TO YOUR CISTERN

• Slow filling of cistern

• Overflowing/overflowing cistern

• Flushing no longer works

• Toilet leaks at the back

If the toilet fills up slowly, the float door is broken, it can be easily replaced and a new universal float can be bought at any DIY shop. Your close the angle stop valve at the cistern by turning it clockwise. You can pull off the valve, which is clamped. To be sure, you can also always close the main tap. With pliers, you can unscrew the nut next to the stopcock, then unscrew the float nut, which is a large nut and sometimes made of plastic. Then the whole float can be taken out and then the new one can be put in and screwed back on, don't forget to put the red washer back between the tap and the float.

The float can also be adjusted so that less water is used by turning the long adjusting screw.

If the cistern continues to run, the float may no longer close, in which case it is best to replace it and follow the description above. If the float does close then the bottom valve ring has run out, this is under the float cup which can be removed, the cistern is sealed by this ring, it is easy to remove. Note, drain the cistern first. The size does vary so it is advisable to take the ring with you to the DIY store. In most cases, the float cup can be removed by grasping it with two hands and turning it a quarter turn. Sometimes it is screwed but in most cases it is simply clamped.

If you have a built-in toilet whose water is running through, please contact Max Rentals. You can do this via the contact page.

If you can no longer flush because the button is lame, in most cases the lever is broken or the bridge to which the lever is attached, in both cases it is best to contact Max Rentals. You can do this through the contact page.

If the toilet leaks at the back it can be in two places, at the trap pipe or at the drain, if it leaks at the drain then it is only visible on a toilet with a rear discharge. If the toilet leaks at the trap pipe, which is where the water enters then there is either a crack in the trap pipe or the runner ring that sits there is no longer good. In either case, it can be replaced and is available at hardware stores. To replace it, first close the fill valve, drain the cistern by pulling through, on the underside of the cistern, unscrew the seal and then you can remove it by holding the cistern up slightly and pulling the trap pipe down and out of the back of the pot. If you need to fit a new trap pipe you can use the old one for size, the new trap pipe may need to be sized and this is done only on the side that goes into the toilet, otherwise the trap pipe will no longer fit under the cistern. If the rubber needs to be replaced, first insert the rubber into the cistern, you can lubricate the inside with some grease to make the trap pipe go in easier. Then re-tighten a the cistern and pay close attention that all washers are well in place.

When the toilet leaks at the drain pipe, in most cases the drain pipe is full of urine stone, which causes the water to remain in the pipe and then leak. In most cases, the toilet is often black on the inside in the shaft, this indicates urine stone. Urine stone is best removed with descaler. There are several agents available that can remove urine stone without affecting the enamel layer of the bowl. If after descaling, the toilet still continues to leak at the back, then create a ticket a in your tenant portal. 

This requires you to contact a locksmith yourself to gain access to your property. The resulting costs will be at your own expense.

If you want an extra key to your own front or back door*, you can have it made yourself at a key specialist in your area.

Some porches or communal areas have a lock that several residents use. These keys are certified. If you would like an extra key, you should ask Max Rentals for permission. Contact Max Rentals about this and keep the number printed on the key handy. Max Rentals will give you written permission to have an additional key made.

You should take this written permission and valid proof of identity with you to a relevant key specialist. The cost of additional keys will always be borne by the tenant.

*Not certified

If you want an extra badge or handheld transmitter*, you should contact Max Rentals for this.

The costs for this are always for the account of the tenant.

If a badge or handheld transmitter is defective, you should contact Max Rentals. They will provide a new badge or handheld transmitter.

*Not possible at every complex

NUISANCE NEIGHBOURS

If you experience nuisance from your neighbours, you are initially asked to contact the perpetrator yourself. In our experience, the person causing the nuisance often does not do it intentionally and a good conversation often solves the problem. From experience, we can say that a court case is an extremely lengthy process which rarely leads to the eviction of the nuisance-causer.

REPORT NUISANCE 

Send an email to rotterdam@maxrentals.nl.

WHICH COMPLAINTS CAN MAX RENTALS HANDLE?

• Noise nuisance, such as long-term nuisance from a music system, pets, extreme living sounds etc.

• Odour nuisance caused by your neighbours or on the grounds of the complex.

• Pollution caused by your neighbours or on the grounds of the complex

• For example, growing hemp in a dwelling or dealing drugs on the grounds of the complex.

WHICH COMPLAINTS CAN MAX RENTALS NOT HANDLE?

When your neighbours are not tenants of a property owned by Max Rentals, it is more difficult for us to contact them. We recommend that you contact your neighbours yourself first. If the nuisance does not stop, we will refer you to neighbourhood mediation or the police under telephone number: 0900-8844.

The property you rent is part of a residential building with rental and owner-occupied houses. The owners of the flats are united in an Owners' Association (VvE).

The VvE regulates the common interests of all owners in a residential building. The VvE is responsible for the management and maintenance of the building, communal areas and installations. The VvE may also draw up living rules or internal regulations. All residents of the residential building must abide by the decisions made by the VvE. The decisions of the VvE are carried out by or on behalf of the board. The board consists of owners who are appointed at a VvE meeting. The BoE meets once a year.

The VvE is responsible for management and maintenance in all communal areas of the building. These are common areas such as the hall, stairwell and corridors. Installations such as the lift, for example, are also parts of the communal areas.

All owners jointly pay the costs incurred for their management and maintenance. As a tenant, you pay the residents' part of the VVE costs from service charges.

As a tenant, you contribute to the following service costs:

• Electricity consumption of communal areas;

• Cleaning costs for communal areas;

• Water consumption for common account;

• Garden maintenance;

• Caretaker

• Heating costs;

• Individual water consumption;

• Heating company costs for preparing the settlement.