Do I have the right to see landlords electricity bills?

MinnieMouseEars

Our landlord charges us electricity, we don't pay the supplier directly.
When we moved in, our landlord told us that they added a bit onto the electricity amount to cover the water (private supply).
We have recently found out that this is not allowed as the landlord is not allowed to charge more than they are being charged. We have just received a bill and I have asked the landlord for copies of their bill so that we can check the price, due to the comment about the water. This was by text (informal). The landlord has now written back to us (formally) stating that they never told us this and that the water is included in the rent. The contract was just a standard one printed off the internet, which annoyingly I can't find right now, but I'm certain that it did not state that the rent included water.
Do I have the right to see copies of the landlord's electricity bill so that I can make sure that we are not being overcharged?

Grenage

Is there are reason you can't pay receive and pay the bill directly? I would not be happy with your arrangement.

MinnieMouseEars

It's a working farm, so one bill is received and then distributed between the farm and the 3 dwellings (2 tenanted). Apparently there is a meter but I've never been given access to it.

need_an_answer

Do you know who supplies the utility?

Phone them and explain the situation,you are quite correct that the main bill payer should not profit from you and must pass the charge on that they are charged.

I suspect it will be difficult for you to get the exact bill amounts but if you explain the size of your property and the current set up the company should be able to estimate with the usage figures they have if you are being charged correctly

Going forward ask your LL for an itemised bill for your usage,it is up to him to provide you something clear and consise if he is expecting to split his bill with you.

wesleyad

It is possibly the amount they are charging for water is fair. A private supply still has costs involved regarding maintenance, electricity to run the borehole pump, possibly annual testing, possibly still sewerage charges etc.

MinnieMouseEars

wesleyad wrote: »

It is possibly the amount they are charging for water is fair. A private supply still has costs involved regarding maintenance, electricity to run the borehole pump, possibly annual testing, possibly still sewerage charges etc.

I do see your point here (but my other post on the water supply may change your mind about fairness!) but we literally get a scrap of paper saying "x units at y pence = z". I wouldn't mind so much if we had a separate bill for the water (in theory, as long as the supply was consistently available and safe to consume). I don't feel that our electricity usage has any bearing on the amount of water used. Surely it should be calculated in the same fashion as rates from the water board - size of property and number of occupants.

martindow

If there's a borehole the only cost of water would be the electricity required by the pump so I think there may have been a misunderstanding there. How is the electricity apportioned between the houses?


You are right that the LL cannot charge more than the cost


https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/energy/energy-supply/problems-with-your-energy-supply/what-your-landlord-can-charge-for-energy/


Do the bills seem to be reasonable? You need to think carefully about how far to push this as some things on the farm could be using a lot of electricity. You don't want to end up paying a proportion of the cost of running grain dryers for instance.

SmashedAvacado

if you have agreed to pay what the landlord pays, then it is reasonable for you to ask for copies of the bills. I can't see how the landlord could argue that it is not.

MinnieMouseEars

martindow wrote: »

If there's a borehole the only cost of water would be the electricity required by the pump so I think there may have been a misunderstanding there. How is the electricity apportioned between the houses?


You are right that the LL cannot charge more than the cost


Redacted due to new user being unable to post links


Do the bills seem to be reasonable? You need to think carefully about how far to push this as some things on the farm could be using a lot of electricity. You don't want to end up paying a proportion of the cost of running grain dryers for instance.

There is a meter for our property I believe and I assume therefore a meter for the other tenanted property and maybe one for the main house as well. The units used seem reasonable enough (perhaps a bit on the high side, but not high enough for me to think that we're being asked to pay for units used on the farm as well).

G_M

If each property has a meter, then ask for access to read it each time a bill is received.


The utility company might be able to confirm if there are individual meters, though if they are billing off a single central meter and the other meters are private ones, they may not know.

iamtati

You definitely have rights to see all the bills.