Daughter given wrong information by private landlord

The_shuffs

Hope I have the right forum my 19 year old daughter is a single mum of 1 living in privately rented 2 bed flat has been there for 1 year 25th may her landlord told her and her then partner that the gas and electric was included in the £500 a month rent now nearly a year later and a few problems with the boiler sorted now the landlord has now told my daughter he made a mistake and gas and electric was not included what can she do about this it is causing a lot of distress as it seems she will now have to pay for nearly a years worth can the landlord do this any advice pls

bsms1147

What does the contract say?

mildredalien

Is the gas and electricity in her name, or the landlords? Does she have it in writing that these bills were included in the rent, perhaps within the contract?

If the bills have been in the LLs name this whole time, whether he has been paying them or not they are his responsibility... if he has changed his mind fair enough but he can't force her to pay for past bills only ask her to pay future ones.

The_shuffs

Thanks for the fast replies nothing in the contract no bills have been sent to the flat and it was only word of mouth from the landlord and one text message the other day when my daughter asked again about the G and E we can't even find out who has been supplying the G and E for the last year crazy situation to be in Thank u again

ognum

Tell your daughter to read her contract.

mildredalien

So the contract doesn't specify either way e.g. bills the responsibility of the tenant or landlord? Is there a text message or email with his statement that bills were included?

Obviously if no bills have turned up at her house but she hasn't been cut off the LL must have been paying them and they are likely in his name. I would advise her to communicate with him in writing at all times, if she really wants to stay in that flat she could offer to be responsible for all future bills?

The_shuffs

There is nothing in her contract it was the landlord who said it was included and is now saying he made a mistake and got her flat confused with another one so no she has nothing in writing just a text

Annie1960

If he is admitting it was his mistake, has he put this admission in writing?

The_shuffs

Nothing in writing was during a visit she had with LL today he said it was a mistake and she should get in touch with EDF who we now know is the energy supplier and explain to them what has happened but we still don't know who is going to be responsible for the the last year of G and E and as my daughter was lead to believe he was responsible for the bills

nick12

Was the property advertised? The ad should state whether or not rent includes bills so may help if you still have this or are still able to access it.

In the absence of any evidence stating who's responsible the fact LL has been paying for a year indicates that this was what was agreed at the start of the tenancy (and I believe this is how a court would interpret it, not that i'm suggesting that's a likely outcome here). So no way he can make her pay for previous bills.

If she wants to stay it's likely she'll have to start covering bills from now on though. How does the rent compare with similar properties in the area? (i.e. is it a bit of a bargain for a 1 bed inc bills or would the addition of bills make it relatively expensive?). This might give you an idea of whether or not it's likely the LL has made a genuine error or if he's taking the mick.

Old_Git

could she simply contact the supplier and pay from now .