Electricity cut off due to non payment by landlord

Lornstar

When I first moved into my rented flat (a saturday) I checked the mailbox and found a letter from Scottish Power in which they stated that there were outstanding monies owed in relation to the property due to the non-payment of bills for a period prior to me moving in. This letter, addressed to the landlord and/or the occupier, notifying him that an application was to be made to the Court on seeking a County Court Judgement be made against him in relation to this non-payment.

I notified the LA of this on the first working day after the commencement of the tenancy, by both telephone and email. I also hand-delivered the Scottish Power letter regarding the County Court Judgement and several Scottish Power bills addressed to the landlord to the LA that evening, so as not to delay any remedy on my part.


I was reasured by the LA that this was being delt with, however at a later date the electricity was cut off and Scottish Power informed that they had recieved non of the documents required ( i.e. tenancy agreement) from the LA.


Everything in the flat depends on the electricity so there was no cooking facilities, hot water, light or heating.

Am i correct therefore in thinking that under s10 / s8 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 the flat was rendered uninhabitable and was not kept fit for human habitation?

As a result of the lack of electricity all food in the fridge/freezer was spoiled and extra costs were incurred due to having to find alternative accomodation. Can I legally claim back these expenses incurred and rent for the period i was unable to live there?

If the LA / LL refused to reimburse would my claim be viable in court?

please help!

Premier_2

Who's responsible according to the TA for paying the electricity bill?

Lornstar

on the tenency agreement it states that it is the tennants responsibility. But the unpaid bills in question were in the landlords name. I only know that the outstanding money was for a period prior to me moving in so this could be for a period between tennants but i don't know for sure.

Sazzyukrafc

If it was a period between the old tenant leaving and you moving in then it is the LL's problem, as he/she is the owner of the house.

If it was me, I would refuse to pay any rent and send this in writing to the LA and LL, as the property is inhabitable. I am sure it must say in your tenancy agreement that it must have electricity?!!

tbs624

Get on the phone this afternoon to your local Council Private Sector Rentals Team and tell them that it is urgent. Where the LL is responsible for the payment of the utility bills (and he would be during tenancy voids) the Council can arrange for the supplies at the property to be reconnected with the costs being charged back to the LL. They can also advise on recovery from the LL /LA of the costs of staying in alternative accommodation until this has been sorted out.

Getting the supply sorted out surely has to be your priority and you can then deal with the costs incurred by you and recompense for the lack of electricity at a later date - the Tenancy Relations Officer can help you with that too.

You may want the TRO to help check this LL and LA out more thoroughly - if the LL is not paying bills, he may possibly also default on any mortage he has on the rental property.

Lornstar

The electricity has now been turned back on (it was off for a total of 6 days) so now I am more concerned with recovering expenses.

How long after the incedent can I put forward a claim? is there a time after which a claim would have expired?

And is the Tenancy Relations Officer part of the Council Private Sector Rentals Team?

Premier_2

Lornstar wrote: »

on the tenency agreement it states that it is the tennants responsibility. But the unpaid bills in question were in the landlords name. I only know that the outstanding money was for a period prior to me moving in so this could be for a period between tennants but i don't know for sure.

If you registered your account with SP as soon as the tenancy commenced and before you had loaded up the fridge/freezer with food, SP would not have disconnected you.

A supplier cannot disconnect a supply for debts incurred by a previous account holder. Why would a supplier want to disconnect a customer who was paying their bills? SP makes money by supplying electricity to their customers - they won't make any money if the supply is disconnected will they?

SP would have told you if & when they planned to disconnect you. Why didn't you contact them not to? They would only disconnect if they believed you were in some way connected to the debtor and only registered the account in an attempt to avoid disconnection.

Edit: it looks like they have now reconnected you. Why? Did you subsequently contact them to explain the situation? Who do you think is responsible for your earlier inaction?

Lornstar

I was informed by the LA that they would inform the electricity company of the new tennancy. Apparently each week they send out emails to all the electricity companies advising of tennants who are new or have left properties. After the electricity being cut off I then discovered that an account had not been set up.

The electricity was cut off a week and half after moving ionto the property i will also add.

Previous LA i have rented through have also set up accounts on my behalf and I have never had any problems from them.

Zelie

Lornstar wrote: »

I was informed by the LA that they would inform the electricity company of the new tennancy. Apparently each week they send out emails to all the electricity companies advising of tennants who are new or have left properties. After the electricity being cut off I then discovered that an account had not been set up.

The electricity was cut off a week and half after moving ionto the property i will also add.

Previous LA i have rented through have also set up accounts on my behalf and I have never had any problems from them.

Lesson learned then. Never, EVER leave LAs to set up things which you are responsible for and which you can't live without. Problems can arise due to inept management or just through forgetful mistakes. Either way, it's you who goes without whilst it gets sorted.

As a rule of thumb take a meter reading whenever you take occupancy of a property and tell that to the power company. When you leave, take another meter reading and have someone witness it.

poppysarah

Use a camera to record the meter reading

SusanEWilson

I have a problem with a private electricity supplier, ie, the farmer. I bought my cottage from them back in June 1999, not realising that it was a private supply, stated as "Mains" on estate agents details and on the replies from solicitor. Farmer has been very lapse in billing, only 7 in 10 years, never with a copy of their supplier's bill until last one. We queried their method of billing, not in line with Ofgem. Farmer will not accept that we are domestic, states that as they are commerical we have to pay CCL and VAT at 17.5%. Also we have been accused of tampering with meter. We reset the clock time, separate dial. So now they have cut us off and now refuse to re connect us or grant a wayleave to enable us to connect to National Grid.

We have tried Consumer Direct/Ofgem, only deal with the public suppliers. Have tried a mediation service but they are not interested.

Does any one know anything else we can try, do not have the money to go to court. Are there are laws referring to our situation of being cut off?

Thanks for reading, this is my first posting, so I apologise if this isn't as good as other ones.