utility bills - who's responsibility when someone leaves ???

HAPPY_BEING_A_YUMMY_MUMMY

Been a landlord for many years and have done ok but keep coming a cropper with British Gas!!!

Previous tenant moved out 3 Nov and couldn't get elec reading so they estimated - new tenant moved in 5 Dec - again couldn't access elec meter so again they estimated - the bill for the vacant month has now come to £135 and they are asking me for it - the flat was empty with no elec used but the previous tenant may have left the wall heaters on so I said I would pay the £59 they want for the gas (which still seems a lot for a very small flat and two wall heaters only)
but the elec part of the bill comes to £76 which is just ridiculous for an empty flat where nothing has been used. I have said it is up to BG and the tenants to sort out - they say it is my responsibility as the owner of the property but I do not have a contract with them , I haven't signed anything and I don't live there!!!

The reason it is difficult to read the meter is because it is accessible through another flat which has a very bizarre tenant in who will only answer the door when he feels like it!!

Your thoughts please???

xylophone

Can't the gas and electricity providers instal accessible meters for your flat?
In the meantime, surely it is the tenants who are responsible for paying their bills?
http://www.propertyinvestmentproject.co.uk/blog/my-tenant-left-without-paying-bills/

anotherginger

xylophone wrote: »

Can't the gas and electricity providers instal accessible meters for your flat?

I second this, and actually think it's vital that you do this. As a tenant I would be very annoyed if I had to gain access to someone elses flat to read the meter that I'm paying for!

Surely it's the landlords responsibility to pay for the utilities for any voids. Who do you expect to pay when no one lives there and you own the property?

You should have taken a meter reading at the end of the last tenancy and at the start of the new one. Then you would know what you owe in between tenants.

sequence

It's your responsibility between tenants. You should get meter readings when a tenant leaves and when a new one enters, for this reason. You will have an implied contract with the suppliers for the time the flat was empty.

HAPPY_BEING_A_YUMMY_MUMMY

yes i agree and know that this is what I should have done but after I showed the new tenant round all the meeting up contract signing and everything was done else where so it did slip my mind - I agree I have to pay for the voids but my point is no electricity was been used int he flat in the void and if there was gas used it was the previous tenant who had left the heaters on which I don't mind paying for as that is a meter that because it is accessible was read both on departure and not he new tenant moving in.
The old bloke downstairs has been there for many years and we don't like to rattle his cage too often but I do intend to find out about moving the meter to an outside box.

BRING BACK THE DAYS OF YEB AND BRITISH GAS being the only suppliers - its hard work now even finding out who supplying the properties and don't even get me started on the "sorry can't give you that information" brigade "data protection - but will you pay us £130 anyway!!"

tbs624

HAPPY_BEING_A_YUMMY_MUMMY wrote: »

yes i agree and know that this is what I should have done but after I showed the new tenant round all the meeting up contract signing and everything was done else where so it did slip my mind

Sorting the utilities is a pretty basic requirement of setting up a new tenancy. Try using a checklist on a clipboard if you're prone to such memory lapses

HAPPY_BEING_A_YUMMY_MUMMY wrote: »

- I agree I have to pay for the voids but my point is no electricity was been used int he flat in the void and if there was gas used it was the previous tenant who had left the heaters on which I don't mind paying for as that is a meter that because it is accessible was read both on departure and not he new tenant moving in.

How on the ball are you as a LL? Do you not check on a flat that is empty? Did you not do a check out with the T? Either of those would have meant you would have picked up on heaters being left on after T had exited. Your insurance company would also expect you to check an empty property from time to time

HAPPY_BEING_A_YUMMY_MUMMY wrote: »

The old bloke downstairs has been there for many years and we don't like to rattle his cage too often but I do intend to find out about moving the meter to an outside box.

Most LLs would probably have done that as a priority. Ts ought to be able to access their own meter readings from a communal hallway or outside meter cupboard

HAPPY_BEING_A_YUMMY_MUMMY wrote: »

BRING BACK THE DAYS OF YEB AND BRITISH GAS being the only suppliers -

No, please don't.

HAPPY_BEING_A_YUMMY_MUMMY wrote: »

its hard work now even finding out who supplying the properties

Do you have a clause in your tenancy agreement requiring that the T confirms any change of supplier with you? It may be time consuming but it doesn't really qualify as "hard work" surely? http://www.ukenergy.co.uk/pages/area.html

You can of course set down the utility bill on your tax return.

steve1980

I don't understand how the new tenants have estimated the reading?

As landlord you (or if you are paying an agent to manage it) should have read the meters so unfortunately, any bill that occurred is down to you.

BitterAndTwisted

I expect the new tenants haven't estimated the latest bill: it's the utility company who have done this. It's just crazy that the meters are not accessible and you are at the mercy of some stranger's whim.

I wouldn't be happy as a tenant to be receiving estimated bills. Once a real meter-reading is taken and a big, fat bill is received expect your new tenants to be very unhappy indeed if they are expected to pay for someone else's usage. Now, if the utility company have been sending estimated bills for much more than actual prior usage, it might be a very different story.

Notmyrealname

HAPPY_BEING_A_YUMMY_MUMMY wrote: »

yes i agree and know that this is what I should have done but after I showed the new tenant round all the meeting up contract signing and everything was done else where so it did slip my mind - I agree I have to pay for the voids but my point is no electricity was been used int he flat in the void and if there was gas used it was the previous tenant who had left the heaters on which I don't mind paying for as that is a meter that because it is accessible was read both on departure and not he new tenant moving in.

You said the previous meter readings were estimates. They underestimated, its as simple as that. You couldn't be bothered to get proper readings when the tenant left so you've now been sent a bill.

At least it is tax deductible.