ADVICE NEEDED: 1 meter, 1 fuse box, 2 flats and 1 bill to me!!!

LondonLupie84

I recently started renting a studio flat which is one of 3 flats in a converted house. My next door neighbour just informed me that she has no no electricity meter in her flat, that her electric supply and fuses are run through the meter in my flat, and she has never paid for electricity in the 9 months or so that she's been living there. She had attempted to join forces with the previous tenant and get the property management company to arrange for the supply/meter to be divided between the 2 flats, as the previous tenant in my flat was getting billed for both flats supply. To this day she has had no cooperation from the agents whatsoever.
I called the property management company to discuss this matter with them and was advised that it's not their responsibility and I must take this up with EDF who will separate the meters for free. I also spoke to EDF about this and they advised that the landlord's permission is required to separate the meters as it will involve some costs and a considerable amount of work. They also advised that this set-up was highly suspicious and may require legal action if the landlord/agent aren't willing to cooperate.
Unless I get a reply to an email my Mum sent (she's my guarantor) to the agents about this which requests that they reply to us within 7 days or face legal action, my father plans to disconnect the neighbour's supply until the agents acting on the landlord's behalf arrange for the meters to be separated. I'm reluctant for my Dad to do this as my neighbour has a one year old and I don't want to create problems for her.
Alternatively, we could just split the cost of the electric bills (granted she's willing to comply), but this could become problematic as we'd have to agree an amount and split the bill accordingly (she lives in a 2 bed flat with her child and partner - so her consumption would be far greater than mine). Also, having the fuse box in my flat is another issue as she could find herself without power if the fuse trips and I'm not home to flick the switch back on.
Is having one meter/fuse box for both flats illegal? Is it illegal for my Dad to disconnect the neighbour's supply until the matter is dealt with properly? I'd appreciate any advice you can provide regarding this matter as I don't know what my rights are regarding this situation and feel rather confused.
Thanks

spiro

This sounds like a flat conversion done on the cheap. To put a supply into the other flat, could cost thousands if they have to run a new supply cable. I'd be looking to move out asap on the grounds that you are supply the other flat and the LL did not advise you of the fact.

Carrot007

Basically what is needed here is a new supply and a re-wire.

This is going to be very costly. (over £1000 easily).

Yout landlord should have done this. They will not have to avoid the cost. (happend a lot).

As far as I know this is legal. Just very inconvienient.

You could disconnect your neigbour. You would need your landlords permission which I doubt you will get.

The cheap way to proceed is for your neigbour to have a sub meter. This would measure what they use and then you could split the bill properly. Again this should be delt with by the landlord.

However if the landlord was fine to let this mess happen. They may not be willing to do anything and your best bet may be to move.

LondonLupie84

Thanks all for the advice. I will definitely suggest the possibility of a submeter to them - although, I'm not sure they deserve any assistance from me right now! :mad:

I've only been in the property for 1 month and signed a 12 month agreement, so not sure how easy it would be to wriggle out of the tenancy. From a legal point of view, would the fact that they did not disclose that my flat was supplying electric to my neighbours be a good enough reason for having my tenancy agreement terminated? Would I get back my full deposit?

It honestly doesn't seem as though they want to do anything about it as this matter has been ignored for so long. Hoping that with my parents assistance (and the serious threat of involving a solicitor or The Property Services Ombudsman etc), we might see a swift resolution to this.

lstar337

LondonLupie84 wrote: »

From a legal point of view, would the fact that they did not disclose that my flat was supplying electric to my neighbours be a good enough reason for having my tenancy agreement terminated?

I would think so.

AndyPK

Easiest thing is split the bill in half.

LondonLupie84

I could split the bills with her @ AndyPK as I get on well with my neighbour, but I don't want the hassle of having to calculate what she owes (she has a 2 bed flat, I have a studio), and I don't want to be in a situation where I have to badger or harrass her for money everytime the bill's due. I certainly don't want any conflict over it either!

Plus she's moving out within the next 3-4 months, so I would have to get the new tenant(s) to split the bill too. It's impractical and not a sustainable set-up in the long term. Each flat should have their own power supply and fuse box, and pay their own bills. It makes life so much easier.

lstar337

AndyPK wrote: »

Easiest thing is split the bill in half.

And what if one person is conserving energy, and the other is burning it up like there is no tomorrow?

vuvuzela

AndyPK wrote: »

Easiest thing is split the bill in half.

Be very expensive for the OP, if they live alone and the other person has a partner and a small child, so will be at home more and potentially use far more energy. If I was living alone, I know my energy costs would be minimal and no way would this be appropriate for me.

jaybeetoo

Has each flat been registered for Council Tax?

I'm just wondering if this is an illegal conversion then do the Council know about it?

macman

It's entirely the LL's responsibilty to arrange the work. Their own sparky will need to do the necessary work on the CU side to separate the two systems, and the DNO will then reconnect the supply to each property. As stated, that won't be cheap.
As above, sounds like a very dodgy conversion bodge-up,and their response indicates that they probably know it.