SW Energy Chasing Landlord for Tenants Unpaid Bills

LoanRanger_2

Hello,I am a landlord and SW Energy provides electricity and water to the flat I let out under an assured shorthold tenancy


My previous tenant hasn’t paid their bill with SW Energy but has indicated to me that they are willing to do so, however, SW Energy are refusing to chase them for the unpaid bill and are instead saying that I, as the landlord am liable.


A valid tenancy agreement was in place for the duration of the billing period.


SW Energy provides energy to the entire building and I have never signed a contract with them for services.


There is a clause in the SW Energy terms and conditions (which I was provided 2 years after commencement of services) stating that the landlord is liable for all charges in the event that a tenant doesn’t pay.


Can anyone offer advice as to where I stand legally on this?



Everything I have read suggests that SW Energy cannot peruse me irrespective of what their T’s and C’s state but the whole horrible situation is giving me sleepless nights.


Any advice would be gratefully received.


Thanks in advance.

molerat

I fear you may well have a responsibility to pay the bill as many of these energy supply contracts fall outside the regulation of OFGEM and are governed by your lease. You need to seek advice from Citizens Advice.

Cardew

Take action in the Small Claims court against your tenants.

dogshome

Whole building supplied by SW energy with Landlords picking up tenants unpaid bills ?


Sounds like the building has a 'District Heating' scheme where the flats are supplied with heat from central boiler, in which case there is no way out other than selling the flat.
However look closely at the original lease for any mention of tenant bills.


PS Just googled SW - Had a look at the reviews on Trustpilot and the advice is to get rid of this flat a.s.a.p.

LoanRanger_2

EnergyTwist wrote: »

Sorry, what was your question? :huh:

We are unable to provide legal advice here.

Please seek independent legal advice if that is what you are seeking, especially if you are planning to rely upon it. At least, then, you will have some comeback if the advice you receive is later found to be incorrect.

Of course, I am not seeking legal advice. More a case of seeing if anyone has found themselves in a similar situation with SW Energy or another supplier, and if so, how they managed to deal with it.

jaynette

LoanRanger wrote: »

Of course, I am not seeking legal advice. More a case of seeing if anyone has found themselves in a similar situation with SW Energy or another supplier, and if so, how they managed to deal with it.

[STRIKE]We found ourserves in the exact same sitution, and were so glad that we went to the CAB for advice; they put us in touch with a local solicitor to helped us resolve the matter really quickly & easily

We have kept using the same solicitor for all our rental business legal matters.[/STRIKE]

Post retracted due to later disclosure by the OP - see new post below

Gerry1

LoanRanger wrote: »

More a case of seeing if anyone has found themselves in a similar situation with SW Energy or another supplier, and if so, how they managed to deal with it.

Oh dear, it seems to be a right old can of worms ! :eek:
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/feb/05/district-heating-fuel-bill-regulation

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.swenergy.eu

matelodave

I dont get the impression that it's a distict heating system although I'm willing to be corrected by the OP if that's the case.

It's unclear who has the tenancy agreement (him or his tenant) but the OP seems to have retained the responsibility to pay the leccy & water bill without transferring it to his tenant.

One would have hoped that if the OP is subletting then he should have ensured that his tenant had taken over responsibility for the energy and water bills when he set up his tenancy agreement with his tenant.

Sounds like a job for the CAB or a solicitor rather than the collective wisdom of some well meaning posters on this forum who are guessing the circumstances

LoanRanger_2

matelodave wrote: »

I dont get the impression that it's a distict heating system although I'm willing to be corrected by the OP if that's the case.

It's unclear who has the tenancy agreement (him or his tenant) but the OP seems to have retained the responsibility to pay the leccy & water bill without transferring it to his tenant.

One would have hoped that if the OP is subletting then he should have ensured that his tenant had taken over responsibility for the energy and water bills when he set up his tenancy agreement with his tenant.

Sounds like a job for the CAB or a solicitor rather than the collective wisdom of some well meaning posters on this forum who are guessing the circumstances

[FONT=&quot]Correct, it isn't a district heating system; each flat has a boiler and meters for electricity, water, and cooling. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The tenancy agreement makes clear that bills are the tenant’s responsibility and they are in the tenants name. The rub is that even though SW Energy acknowledge this, they state that in the event that the tenant doesn’t pay, responsibility transfers to the landlord.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I'll definitely be getting in contact with the CAB to get their advice.[/FONT]

Gerry1

LoanRanger wrote: »

[FONT=&quot]Correct, it isn't a district heating system; each flat has a boiler and meters for electricity, water, and cooling.[/FONT]

This all seems very unclear - which fuels operate the boiler and the cooling system?

If there are conventional gas and electricity meters, it seems that SW Energy are just resellers, so why is everyone forced to use them if it's not a District Heating system? Does your lease (not the tenants') specify that you must use SW Energy for XX years, and did you sign it before purchase of the property? Sounds like it might be an Unfair Contract !

Or did you end up on a 'deemed' SW Energy tariff because you used their services after buying the flat and you didn't get around to switching supplier?

jaynette

LoanRanger wrote: »

[FONT=&quot]Correct, it isn't a district heating system; each flat has a boiler and meters for electricity, water, and cooling. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The tenancy agreement makes clear that bills are the tenant’s responsibility and they are in the tenants name. The rub is that even though SW Energy acknowledge this, they state that in the event that the tenant doesn’t pay, responsibility transfers to the landlord.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I'll definitely be getting in contact with the CAB to get their advice.[/FONT]

In which case we were not in the same situation.

Easy mistake to make, as "
"SW Energy manage communal heating, chilling, metering and billing solutions for residential and mixed usage developments. [They] provide a range of services covering; utilities procurement, resident billing, the installation and maintenance of HIUs and metering systems.


[They]currently provide these services for many significant developments in London, Manchester and Liverpool.


[Their] main offering is [their] fully managed service..."

However, they do offer another service where they bulk buy all the gas for a particular property, where their service then entails "billing experts produce tenant bills and collect payment on your behalf "

If it's the latter that you have, then all the more reason to seek independent legal advice, as they would appear to have otherwise failed in their contract with you.

(And I don't understand why the lease would include the term you say it does:. It does for us but we have a fully managed communal heating/cooling facility. Perhaps something else you could bring up with the legal adviser if you have the time)