Is Landlords liable for unpaid bill for gas/electric supply

gmartjones

Spiro,
Thanks for your reply. There was no gas or electric used for the 4 months between tenants. I notified the utility company of the readings when the tenant left and the new one arrived, the readings were the same. But am I responsible for the bill the old tenant didn't pay. ??? I did supply what I thought was his address but I don't know whether or not they chased him. I can't see how I could be responsible for no utilities used in those 4 months ???.
and yes I have valid gas and electric safety certificates.

Cardew

gmartjones wrote: »

Spiro,
But am I responsible for the bill the old tenant didn't pay. .

No you are not responsible.

However when the debt gets to a DCA they will chase anyone they feel they can get money from.

They have got your name and address(from old tenant?) and will 'try it on' with you if they have no luck with the tenant.

vuvuzela

JasX wrote: »

!!!!!! start a new thread and don't dig up old ones to post unrelated problems in.

It just wastes everyones time re-reading the old stuff.

!!!!!! be polite

The poster clearly thought they were doing the right thing by posting a problem that is similar to that of the thread starter.

gmartjones

Cardew,
Thanks for the reply. I will try to deal as much as possible with the Utility company and avoid the DCA as much as possible.
Much appreciated. Graham.

PZH

gmartjones wrote: »

I had knocked off the gas at the metre and electric at the trip-switch for safety reasons whilst the house was un-occupied for the 4 months, so the metre readings when the old tenant had left corresponded with the metre readings taken when the new tenant came in 4 month later, as no utilities had been used.

It depends on your tariff - could it be possible that there is a standing charge as this would be payable regardless that nothing had been used ?

Does the £140 include Debt Collectors fees ?

spiro

gmartjones wrote: »

Spiro,
Thanks for your reply. There was no gas or electric used for the 4 months between tenants. I notified the utility company of the readings when the tenant left and the new one arrived, the readings were the same. But am I responsible for the bill the old tenant didn't pay. ??? I did supply what I thought was his address but I don't know whether or not they chased him. I can't see how I could be responsible for no utilities used in those 4 months ???.
and yes I have valid gas and electric safety certificates.

The supplier and the DCA should only be chasing you for the period between tenants. Call the supplier and ask for a copy of the bill. When the new tenant moved in and you provided your supplier with your moving out reading did you provide a forwarding address.

You may need to provide the supplier with a copy of the tenancy agreement for the old tenant to prove when they moved out. I presume during the tenancy that you had nothing in your name registered against the property i.e. driving licence, electoral register etc.

gmartjones

Spiro,
There was no electric or gas used between tenants. Could be they are charging for standing charge ?? not sure on that, will have to check with utility co. I provided the utility co with the moving out metre reading immediately he left. There was never a case where I 'moved in' as the old tenant moved out I provided metre details right away, and when the new tenant moved in the agent provided the metre readings to the utility company straight away (that is 4 months later), which read the same as 4 months prior ,when the old tenant had left. I have a copy of the original tenancy agreement but the agent gave him a 6 month short term assured contract but then kept him on 'rollover basis' for an extra 3 months (he was there for 9 months in total). Hopefully this would be acceptable as I have just the one tenancy agreement for him, although he was there the extra 3 months.

payless

Yes likely standing charge ( hint put empty properties on no s/c tariffs)

No electricity used during redecoration?

gmartjones

No . I redecorated in daylight only.

gmartjones

Thanks everyone for your replies. I will wait to see what happens when the utility company repies to my recorded delivery letter. My credit has always been excellent. Hopefully this won't stuff it up. Only time will tell.