Landlord won’t install separate metres.

OldBrownShoe

Hi. I’m hoping this is in the right place.

I rent a flat on top of a restaurant.
The whole property only has one electric metre and one water metre. The whole property is owned by one person.

We’re in a bit of a standoff at the moment regarding the bills. The man who runs the restaurant wants to split the bills 60/40 with them paying the higher amount. I don’t agree I should as
1) I’m out of the flat all day whereas they use water/electric constantly all day
2) I presume they have to pay business levy plus extra VAT rather than consumer rates
3) I’d like to know how much I’m using so I can budget/cut back/save for etc.

My landlord is refusing to split the metres as it costs too much, and seems to be siding with the business about the percentage split. I’ve not agreed to anything yet until I’ve spoken to citizens advice but can’t get an appointment with them til mid June. I’m feeling quite intimidated as every time I step out the flat I get hounded for money from the man who runs the business.

Has anyone got any advice/knowledge on what my rights are? And if I can refuse to pay until a separate meter is put in. Can I force my landlord to install one?

As it stands I don’t have any utilities in my name and don’t receive any bills yet am expected to just hand over a lump sum every month which could just be a number pulled out of thin air. (I haven’t done this yet)

Carrot007

Move.


And learn to spell meter. (nah it's ok I spell like crap too).



Anyhow if thats in the contract that is what you agreed to. Not liking it not means nothing.


You cannot force your landlord to do anything in this situation and in most cases if you force them you will not be a tennant ASAP.

OldBrownShoe

Nothing is in the tenancy about bills.

iammumtoone

Carrot007 wrote: »

Anyhow if thats in the contract that is what you agreed to. Not liking it not means nothing.

Did the OP say it was in the contract?


OP what does the tenancy agreement/contract say about bills.

OldBrownShoe

The tenancy agreement doesn’t mention bills at all.

[Deleted User]

OldBrownShoe wrote: »

The tenancy agreement doesn’t mention bills at all.

I have come across this a few times as a BG meter reader where a shop/cafe or restaurant is sharing one meter with the flat above.I expect it is because originally the owner occupied the flat over so there was no problem in shared billing..They are not always on business tariffs .. Business rates can be cheaper than domestic, depends on the contract agreed with the suppliers
Possibly you could note the usage of the downstairs more carefully when you are away from the flat to be in a better bargaining position to lower your costs when you present the actual usage..
You may use more than the restaurant , you won t know until you investigate. I used to use little electric all day when out working till 6 pm but I made up for it heating with a 3 bar electric fire for many hours in the colder months.You need to end the guesswork if possible as to your usage v the restaurants.
. You would need easy access to both of the meters to monitor your usage against the restaurants.
I would nt advise being confrontational with the L/L or demanding. After all he s got the upper hand and could raise your rent or make things difficult.. It costs quite a lot to install a separate meter and your costs would probably rise by up to £100 a year in standing charges alone if you had your own meter...
Try and measure your weekly usage. including heating costs , to work out what you would use annually before approaching landlord for reducing your costs

Norman_Castle

Carrot007 wrote: »

And learn to spell meter. (nah it's ok I spell like crap too).

You cannot force your landlord to do anything in this situation and in most cases if you force them you will not be a tennant ASAP.

Tennants is a lager, try tenant.

Norman_Castle

Having a shared supply means you are only paying a proportion of the standing charges. How much is your annual share of the bill and how does it compare to others in similar accommodation?

Fire_Fox

Welcome to MSE.

CAB usually run drop-in sessions. You should be seen by an advisor if you arrive early for a session.

You have no legal contract with the business owner. Do not discuss, agree nor even dispute any proportion with them. Do not pay the business owner anything with or without a receipt.

Write to your landlord reporting the harassment, or contact the local police or indeed both. Nobody is entitled to harass you for money you owe them, let alone harass you for money you do not owe them.

Your legal contract is with your landlord. If your tenancy agreement says nothing about utilities and you have no meters, you *may* not have to pay anything. If you are liable for a proportion of the total utilities you would pay your landlord. The landlord cannot profiteer from such an arrangement.

This is more an issue for the 'House Buying, Renting & Selling' sub. Run an advanced search, and repost there if your issue has not been addressed before.

HTH!

Benight

Andy_WSM - may I ask why you found post#7 by Norman Castle useful?

Was it because you are seeking a new lager to drink?

If so, have you tried Carlsberg recently?




Or was it because you did not know the difference between Tennants and tenant before reading that post???

:cool:

RebTech

The notion that a restaurant will use only 50% more water than a single person who's out all day is utterly ludicrous. (Implication of 60/40 split.) IMO the OP's share of water bill should be 0%, his usage being most reasonably assumed to be negligible.