Today, just as the Exploratorium was undergoing painting, and when we were about to put up the drywall, our landlord came by to say, in his Paisa tan Paisa Spanish, that he got a call from the owner and we have to vacate by the 2nd of January!
Wha!
Basically, the landlord has lived here since 1975, but the family that owns it lives in the United States. They want to knock it down to rebuild it. It is a bit old. But the real large room in the front is just absolutely perfect for what we are envisioning, and there is a real shortage on anything being for rent in Jardín.
Needless to say, we had to pause on continuing the installations, which was also a drag.
After doing some research, I realized I may not have to leave so soon after all…Ley 820 de 2003
"El arrendatario podrá dar por terminado unilateralmente el contrato de arrendamiento a la fecha de vencimiento del término inicial o de sus prórrogas, siempre y cuando dé previo aviso escrito al arrendador a través del servicio postal autorizado, con una antelación no menor de tres (3) meses a la referida fecha de vencimiento. En este caso el arrendatario no estará obligado a invocar causal alguna diferente a la de su plena voluntad, ni deberá indemnizar al arrendador."
Basically, you need to give notice three months prior to an eviction.
Also, at the start, there is a snippet of:
ARTÍCULO 3o. FORMA DEL CONTRATO. El contrato de arrendamiento para vivienda urbana puede ser verbal o escrito. En uno u otro caso, las partes deben ponerse de acuerdo al menos acerca de los siguientes puntos.
Basically, the contract can be written or verbal, doesn’t matter. A contract is made when money changes hands for rent.
The Reply – ‘Desalojamiento.pdf’
So, taking these into account, the graphics and outline from work an old lawyer friend did for me, and with the help of a buddy of mine, (a retired savy business-type from Medellín, I came up with a pretty great response), I whipped up:
Fortunately, I am thinking the letter might be enough to at least let them re-think their plan. The landlord has chickens and birds, and an entire garden out back. He certainly doesn’t want to leave more than any of us. And he had nothing but praise when he spoke to them.
I will keep our readers well informed of any updates!
