Landlord withholding deposit - am I responsible for this bill?

diavolina

TBagpuss wrote: »

How much is your deposit?

£650 so basically the same amount as the heating bill.

Halle71

Your landlord should have told you within 30 days which deposit scheme your deposit is in - tell him this. If he hasn't done it he'll start to worry and will maybe think twice about pursuing the heating bill.

tBagpuss_2

diavolina wrote: »

£650 so basically the same amount as the heating bill.

what a coincidence!

G_M

The intention of the wording of the tenancy agreement is clear: tenant is liable for costs associated with utilities for the flat.

The wording is poor.

I think it is debatable how acourt wouldinterpret this. I suspect the judge would rule you should have known the heating was not free....

.. but courts can be unpredicatable which is why we pay lawyers lots of money to try to 2nd guess them!

diavolina

tBagpuss wrote: »

what a coincidence!

Ha! No the bill is actually for that amount as I've seen it. Although it will be less after it's recalculated to cover only the time I was in the property.

G_M wrote: »

I think it is debatable how a court would interpret this. I suspect the judge would rule you should have known the heating was not free....

I didn't think the heating was free! There were electric heaters in the flat and I paid the electricity bill. I just wasn't aware there was an additional heating charge on top of this. I mean, why would there be? I've lived in a few different apartments and there has never been any kind of heating charge to the management company in any of them. The heating has always been covered by the electricity bill.

Also, the reason I have not received any bills for the heating is because my landlord didn't give the management company permission to bill me. So it is entirely his fault I didn't know about the charge.

Svenena

G_M wrote: »

I suspect the judge would rule you should have known the heating was not free....

He didn't think it was free, he thought it was covered by his electricity bill (he said above) as there were electric heaters in the flat.

princeofpounds

I think it is debatable how acourt wouldinterpret this. I suspect the judge would rule you should have known the heating was not free....

I would suspect the opposite actually, as a court would I think assume that the tenant was the more vulnerable party in the contract (and it's a consumer contract to boot). The assumption would likely be that the LL should have known what they were doing.

But I do agree it is not certain what would happen.

G_M

diavolina wrote: »

I didn't think the heating was free! There were electric heaters in the flat and I paid the electricity bill. I just wasn't aware there was an additional heating charge on top of this. I mean, why would there be? I've lived in a few different apartments and there has never been any kind of heating charge to the management company in any of them. The heating has always been covered by the electricity bill.

It is of course difficult to advise without knowing all the facts. Your first sentence was :

There is a central heating system in the apartment block which heats the apartments

This is clearly separate from the electric heaters IN the flat. Hence my assumption that you knew of this.

As for the fact that you've never experienced a heating charge from a management company before, well, have you ever experienced "a central heating system in the apartment block which heats the apartment"?

I am simply warning you that if this were to go to court, it may not be clear-cut as to whether you would win. You should therefore consider that possibility before deciding.

Mallotum_X

Just pay up, you used the heating, you pay for it, dont try and scam someone else into paying your bills for you.

diavolina

G_M wrote: »

This is clearly separate from the electric heaters IN the flat. Hence my assumption that you knew of this.

As for the fact that you've never experienced a heating charge from a management company before, well, have you ever experienced "a central heating system in the apartment block which heats the apartment"?

I am simply warning you that if this were to go to court, it may not be clear-cut as to whether you would win. You should therefore consider that possibility before deciding.

I didn't know about the central heating system while I was living in the flat; I've only discovered this since this bill came to light.