Not sure what to put here? tennants not paid bills?

Rao_Vantika

Hi,

Im posting on behalf of my Lanlord. The tennants in another flat he rents out have just vacated at the end of the tennancy, he has, however, discovered that they still owe the electricity board a few hundred pounds in unpaid bills. He has their forwarding address which he has given to the electricity board but will that be the end of the matter? Who is responsible for unpaid bills when tennants move out?

Thanks.

CharlieBilly

The person on the bill is responsible

Gurn_2

but the landlord will be responsible for standing charges whilst the property is empty unless he rings and asks them to put him on zero standing charges which means the unit price is higher, then when new people move in, he can let the suppliers know.

Pincher

Rao_Vantika wrote: »

Hi,

Im posting on behalf of my Lanlord.

He has their forwarding address which he has given to the electricity board but will that be the end of the matter?

Keep an eye on the post. The utility company might keep chasing the old address, either because they refuse to acknowledge communication from non-account holder, or the forwarding address is bogus.

Post needs to be returned to sender, unopened. The debt collection agency just look up a reverse telephone book for the address, so whoever lives there next will be getting phone calls if the debt is not paid. The debt collector will pretend to be long lost friend, have something to give him, etc. They can't do anything, as long as you maintain they no longer live there.

They will ask for a declaration from somebody in the house that the target no longer lives there. I did it a few times, but the next agency just repeats the same thing all over again, so it's a waste of time. Just return the post and say they no longer live here on the phone.

glider3560

The previous tenant of my previous flat did a runner to Spain after not paying any of the bills. EDF kept sending them, even after I'd returned to sender. They then tried the "The Occupier" trick, probably hoping that I'd pay up not realising it was for before I moved in. In the end, I wrote them a letter and just gave the landlord's address and told them to contact him. Never heard from them again.

The water company were a lot more understanding. After I'd returned to sender once, they sent a letter (actually addressed to me, rather than The Occupier) asking for the previous tenant's forwarding address. I didn't have this so wrote a note asking them to contact the landlord. Again, never heard from them again either about the debt.

Rao_Vantika

Thanks for the replys, I'll pass these on to my LL. One thing bugging me though, what's to stop the EB disconnecting the supply for non-payment?

glider3560

Rao_Vantika wrote: »

Thanks for the replys, I'll pass these on to my LL. One thing bugging me though, what's to stop the EB disconnecting the supply for non-payment?

Provided you have an account set up in your name, they won't/can't disconnect the supply as you don't have the debt.

markharding557

The landlord needs to open a new account in his name until he gets new tenants but then he should already know that

PNPSUKNET

he should provide a copy of their tennancy agreement, to prove he isnt liable.

ceh209

If he hasn't already returned their deposit, I believe it's usually in a tenancy agreement that the deposit can be used for unpaid bills, so that may be an option to just get it sorted out.

Fire_Fox

ceh209 wrote: »

If he hasn't already returned their deposit, I believe it's usually in a tenancy agreement that the deposit can be used for unpaid bills, so that may be an option to just get it sorted out.

I am pretty sure this is not permitted by any of the deposit protection schemes. The tenant is liable for the bills, the landlord cannot withhold money against a charge that he is not liable for! There are many clauses added to ASTs that are unfair or unenforceable or just plain illegal.