rent deposit return - bills

FBaby

Tenants move out, she goes in, gets readings, supplies them to the supplier and sets up a new account with them.


When new tenants move in, she closes down her account with the updated meter readings

That would have been assuming that she knew who the suppliers were! They of course didn't bother to inform her of this info. There was only a week between the two tenants, and a lot of work to do to get it in the state which was the condition for the new tenants to move in (after dispute, previous tenants lost all their deposit, that's how bad it was!).

I expect going through two lots of changes in less a week would have resulted in as much hassle with the utility companies then it turned out to be (it's bad enough doing it once!).

As said, it is probably because of too many landlords ending up with nightmares sorting it all out that LAs are now resulting in asking for this info. Again, indeed, they can be told to get lost, but I can see more and more asking for checkout fees just for this purpose. I would expect most tenants would prefer to just hand over a copy of paid invoices rather than incurring yet another hefty fee.

lewishardwick

IF the tenant hasn't switched supplier without the LL/LAs consent, the proof of meter readings should be enough.

With my last few lves I've always been present at the check out to ensure that meter readings remain identical, this way neither party can proportion the blame if utility bills come in incorrect.

I would not trust a LA/LL to obtain accurate readings without me being present, just as I wouldn't expect the LA/LL to trust my readings to be accurate.

Sometimes there just has to be a bit of leg work on both sides to keep things clear.

Hasn't failed me yet...

Guest101

FBaby wrote: »

That would have been assuming that she knew who the suppliers were! - It's very easy to find out, just phone any supplier and they can tell you. They of course didn't bother to inform her of this info. - Nor do they have to. There was only a week between the two tenants - a week, a day, it's not relevant. It's her responsibility., and a lot of work to do to get it in the state which was the condition for the new tenants to move in (after dispute, previous tenants lost all their deposit, that's how bad it was!). - How is that relevant to the issue of bills?

I expect going through two lots of changes in less a week would have resulted in as much hassle with the utility companies then it turned out to be (it's bad enough doing it once!). - Entering a few lines of text and generating a bill? Hi my name is, my address is, starting readings are - I am a LL and will be closing the account shortly.

As said, it is probably because of too many landlords ending up with nightmares sorting it all out - that's part of the 'running a business' admin. that LAs are now resulting in asking for this info. - Info that they don't actually have a right to? Again, indeed, they can be told to get lost, but I can see more and more asking for checkout fees just for this purpose. -what's checkout fees got to do with bills? I would expect most tenants would prefer to just hand over a copy of paid invoices rather than incurring yet another hefty fee.

You've lost me on the 'hefty fee'. Checkout is nothing to do with the bills.


I think you're missing the point: A tenant does not have to show a paid bill, because they can leave with bills unpaid. In fact most do, as the final bill isn't received for a number of weeks after moving out.

Guest101

lewishardwick wrote: »

IF the tenant hasn't switched supplier without the LL/LAs consent, the proof of meter readings should be enough. - Consent is not required and cannot be demanded.

With my last few lves I've always been present at the check out to ensure that meter readings remain identical, this way neither party can proportion the blame if utility bills come in incorrect. - photos. Contract is with supplier, not LL or agent.

I would not trust a LA/LL to obtain accurate readings without me being present, just as I wouldn't expect the LA/LL to trust my readings to be accurate. - Totally irrelevant. The only people you have to prove to are the supplier.

Sometimes there just has to be a bit of leg work on both sides to keep things clear.

Hasn't failed me yet...

I'm unclear what the agent or LL has to do with this

lewishardwick

Fine, you go and do the necessary to force LA/LL to not put unreasonable clauses in contracts. Meanwhile I'll stick to what I know works for me.

IME LA are far from squeaky clean when it comes to knowing/respecting tenants rights. LL are usually just unclear, leaving it to the 'experts'.

You are correct though. As I understand it, the non-disputed portion of protected deposits should returned within 10 days. So perhaps OP should call their bluff? Either dispute the funds (how when the final amount is not known) or return the money.

Guest101

lewishardwick wrote: »

Fine, you go and do the necessary to force LA/LL to not put unreasonable clauses in contracts. Meanwhile I'll stick to what I know works for me.

IME LA are far from squeaky clean when it comes to knowing/respecting tenants rights. LL are usually just unclear, leaving it to the 'experts'.

You are correct though. As I understand it, the non-disputed portion of protected deposits should returned within 10 days. So perhaps OP should call their bluff? Either dispute the funds (how when the final amount is not known) or return the money.

The contract clauses are irrelevant, they can put them in all they like. The fact is the bills do not have to be paid before the tenancy ends. In many cases that's not event possible. There is no loss to the LL or the agent and as such there's no risk to me as a tenant.


I agree LA and LL are not always squeaky clean, but given that this situation would only arise once the tenant has left, there is very little, in fact nothing, that the Agent or LL can do to the tenant.

G_M

Originally Posted by Miss Samantha
It's rather surprising, and worrying, that so many people do not seem to know how council tax works.

theartfullodger wrote: »

Could you kindly explain how it works in these circumstances, please?

Unlikely. Not necessarily through lack of knowledge, but because the poster has a common tendency to contradict other posters' claims, or make bald statements, without substantiation or explanation.

A sort of "I know better than you but I'm not going to say why, or contibute to the forum by explaining" approach.

And then wonders why there's sometimes a backlash of negative responses.....

Miss_Samantha

Ah let's never miss a chance to make bitter and snide comments... That will entice sympathy and encourage constructive replies.

Perhaps a reply from me was unlikely but thanks to G_M it is now certain that it won't happen.

(I'm pretty sure that G_M and artfulodger know the answer so I'm not sure why they pursue me in such way instead of aggrandising their reputations by explaining).

Tumtitums

Thanks for the replies , im still a bit confused about what is acceptable. All I can do is take the receipts ive saved as for the water and council tax I paid in cash at the shop but the problem is its in instalments
I spoke to the deposit protection people who said that they were unclear about how the letting agent could decide to withhold x amount as they wouldn't have any documentation saying that I owed money.
Can I just add that I gave the agent about 4 weeks notice and asked if I could be present at the moving out date. They only told me 3 days ago that's receipts would be required and they said that it wouldn't be possible for me to be present on the day that they are doing the inventory check as they don't know when that will be

HappyMJ

Tumtitums wrote: »

Thanks for the replies , im still a bit confused about what is acceptable. All I can do is take the receipts ive saved as for the water and council tax I paid in cash at the shop but the problem is its in instalments
I spoke to the deposit protection people who said that they were unclear about how the letting agent could decide to withhold x amount as they wouldn't have any documentation saying that I owed money.
Can I just add that I gave the agent about 4 weeks notice and asked if I could be present at the moving out date. They only told me 3 days ago that's receipts would be required and they said that it wouldn't be possible for me to be present on the day that they are doing the inventory check as they don't know when that will be

It is not acceptable to require the accounts to be closed and paid up before the deposit is refunded.

Most bills need to be generated after you supply final meter readings, posted to you and then you have 28 days to pay before further action is taken. That process can take months.

It would be nice of you to tell the LA/LL who the gas/electricity suppliers are but there is no requirement to.

You can do your own checkout inventory. If your differs from the LA/LL's you hopefully would have some photographic evidence to supply to the LA/LL and maybe to the dispute resolution service you use if it comes to that. Most deductions are quite obvious if you accidentally damage something you either pay to repair it or claim it on insurance and if something has broken due to fair wear and tear the landlord pays for it's repair or replacement without charging anything to the tenant.