Landlord ran up huge energy bill and wants tenant to pay

LandlordProb

Just when I thought it could not get more complex.........


I've now been told that the land lord contracted out the management to an estate company .What I've been told is that the EC is saying to the land lord that he should have taken a meter reading as soon as my friend moved out to the hotel for 2 months,then everyone would know how much electricity was used by the workers repairing the damp damage. He ddn't do this and the estate company is now saying that it was the land lord's responsibility to do this,not the tenant. So, the estate company is saying it does not want to get involved because the land lord did not take a reading and the land lord has told the tenant that he cannot afford to pay(I suspect that he is paying the mortgage on the flat,so has not got the money to pay the £775 bill) which kind of explains why he suggested that the tenant leaves the country without paying,seeing as the bill is in her name, not his. She also told me that she gave permission for him to deal withe the energy supplier, even though the account is in her name.


Interestingly,the estate company told the tenant that it was good she was being put up in a hotel for 2 months, as she wouldn't have to pay any electric bills. She has this in writing from the estate company.


So, to summerise: The estate company is saying the land lord should pay and the land lord says the tenant should either pay or just leave the UK without paying. She is not going to leave without paying, but does not want to be made responsible for the whole amount. She is now thinking about involving the ombudsman,but I'm not sure what they could do.Oh yes, one last thing, she paid the rent for 12 months up front(Sep 2017-Sp 2018).

exiled_red

This is a dispute between the landlord and the tenant, the energy company and the ombudsman can do nothing about this. The supplier has provided energy and it has been used, if you have no meter readings it is not possible to know who used it and when, however it needs to be paid for. As your friend is the one whose name is on the bill she is the one the energy company will see as being responsible for paying it.


Your friend needs to negotiate with the landlord and possibly the letting agent. I would try and find out what was done by the builders in the 2 months that she was away eg run heaters and dehumidifiers find out how long they were run for and how much power they typically use to estimate the cost of the power while she was away and ask the landlord to contribute that amount towards the bill.

robatwork

LandlordProb wrote: »

Oh yes, one last thing, she paid the rent for 12 months up front(Sep 2017-Sp 2018).

Off topic but for other tenants and LLs reading - is this as rare (and daft) as it appears? Who on earth knows what their personal circumstances will be in 12 months?

Red-Squirrel_2

robatwork wrote: »

Off topic but for other tenants and LLs reading - is this as rare (and daft) as it appears? Who on earth knows what their personal circumstances will be in 12 months?

12 month fixed term tenancies are incredibly common, in fact they are the standard. Six months is actually the legal minimum.

A lot of people get fixed terms on their mortgages too, for anything from 1 to 10 years, which I presume you will find astonishing!

robatwork

LandlordProb wrote: »

Oh yes, one last thing, she paid the rent for 12 months up front(Sep 2017-Sp 2018).

robatwork wrote: »

Off topic but for other tenants and LLs reading - is this as rare (and daft) as it appears? Who on earth knows what their personal circumstances will be in 12 months?

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

12 month fixed term tenancies are incredibly common, in fact they are the standard. Six months is actually the legal minimum.

A lot of people get fixed terms on their mortgages too, for anything from 1 to 10 years, which I presume you will find astonishing!

Hmmm you know the building expression measure twice cut once? You should apply it when you parse forum postings. I didn't mention 12 month tenancies, I quoted paying UP FRONT for 12 months. Do you do this on your rental? Do you do this on your mortgage? Thought not. There's possibly a reason the grey squirrel is taking over.

Red-Squirrel_2

robatwork wrote: »

Hmmm you know the building expression measure twice cut once? You should apply it when you parse forum postings. I didn't mention 12 month tenancies, I quoted paying UP FRONT for 12 months. Do you do this on your rental? Do you do this on your mortgage? Thought not. There's possibly a reason the grey squirrel is taking over.

It matters not whether you pay up front or in installments, when you sign a 12 month tenancy you owe 12 months rent regardless of whether your circumstances might change before that.

You seemed to think that paying up front involved a greater commitment, it does not.

agrinnall

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

12 month fixed term tenancies are incredibly common, in fact they are the standard.

Do you have any evidence for this statement? I certainly never had a 12 month tenancy when I was renting, and I never issued one as a LL.

takman

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

It matters not whether you pay up front or in installments, when you sign a 12 month tenancy you owe 12 months rent regardless of whether your circumstances might change before that.

You seemed to think that paying up front involved a greater commitment, it does not.

A lot of people who post on here who have signed a 12 month tenancy often have a break clause to allow them to give 2/3 months notice to end the tenancy early.

Also even if you don't have a break clause if your circumstances do change and you haven't paid upfront the agent/landlord may consider a mutual surrender of the tenancy if a replacement tenant is found.

If you pay up front for 12 months you have a lot less flexibility and the agent/landlord is going to be less willing to help you if you do need to move when they have your full 12 months rent in their bank already.

Red-Squirrel_2

takman wrote: »

A lot of people who post on here who have signed a 12 month tenancy often have a break clause to allow them to give 2/3 months notice to end the tenancy early.

Also even if you don't have a break clause if your circumstances do change and you haven't paid upfront the agent/landlord may consider a mutual surrender of the tenancy if a replacement tenant is found.

If you pay up front for 12 months you have a lot less flexibility and the agent/landlord is going to be less willing to help you if you do need to move when they have your full 12 months rent in their bank already.

True, those are good points, but it doesn't mean its always daft or necessarily rare to pay 12 months up front, there can be lots of perfectly valid reasons for doing so.