Student House Question?

DannyWhoWorks

Hey! My brother is a student and is moving into a student house in a few weeks. The house where he lives was open to be lived in from July 1st, so two of the 6 people moved in straight away. He has not moved in yet BUT the other two have still not set up any bills for electric and water. (No gas at the property as far as I am aware). What does this mean? .... Will the house get charged more? ... It kind of surprises me that electric and water are being given to a property who have not signed up for it! They got a letter just short of two months ago from the water company stating if they don't sign up to them in 14 days, then they will cut water off from the property, but this has not happend.

Anyone got any insight? .... What happends if they never sign up to it and electricty? ... Because my brother does not want it to be just him who ends up paying a huge fine cause the others cannot be borthered.

thanks.

Cardew

These days people don't need to 'sign up' for utilities. With electricity the occupants are on a legally binding deemed contract as soon as they use any electricity. The tariff will be the company's standard tariff, which is the most expensive.

They will bill 'The occupier' if they have no name.

Similarly with water, they are liable as soon as they move in - for the standing charges if metered(plus any water used of course) or charges based on the length of time occupied if no meter(Rateable value charges)

If the people who moved in on 01 July didn't contact Water and Electricity companies with their meter readings on that date, they might well find they will be paying for the previous occupant's consumption. It is a bit late to dispute meter readings when they have been in occupation over 2 months.

Your brother should be aware that all 6 occupants can be held 'jointly and severally' liable for any unpaid bills. This means the company(or the Debt Collection Agency) can, and will, chase a single individual for the whole bill - not just their share.

Student house bills are a never ending source of problems and it needs to be sorted right at the beginning. All occupants should demand to see receipted bills - not trust that someone has paid.

Terrylw1

Just make contact with them.

You are liable from the date of occupation on your tenancy agreement and its for all noted in that agreement. So put all names on the bill from day 1.

Did you take readings? Did your landlord? If not, they will set you up based on the previous tenants closing reading or an estimate if the landlord is named inbetween and doesn't provide their readings.

The crucial part is payments. This is where it goes wrong with students sharing as someone doesn't want to pay and your supplier holds you all liable. You need to protect yourself from this problem.

Make sure all bills are based on accurate readings and provide a closing reading when you leave to ensure payments will be accurate.