Who is responsible for Standing Charge on Empty Property

[Deleted User]

Hi,



she may have already agreed to the other property, so would you allow her to 'house sit' for free?

Leodogger

Why does she have to house sit? As long as the tenancies don't overlap then she is entitled to be away from the property for a week under the existing insurance policy.

cranford

At the end of the day can't you deduct all these expenses from your rental income before you pay tax on it?

Leodogger

Don't know, will have to look into it.

jonnyboom

I have a question if I may. My mother owns a property that used to use British gas as a supplier of gas and electricity. When a Tennant moved in, the Tennant changed supplier to octopus energy. The Tennant moved out last November. Meter readings were taken and octopus were informed.
My mother doesn't have an account with them, but obviously expected to have to pay the standing charges whilst empty.
Since then. She has had demand after demand for not only the standing charges, but also "estimated" gas and electricity usage.
She has of course refused to pay. 
To top it off. My farther. Her husband of 50 years, passed away, and she's currently in a very vulnerable state. 
To the point where the stress is making her ill. 
The debt had now been passed on to a collection agency, which you can imagine has pretty much sent her over the edge.
Am I right in saying that she is ONLY responsible for the standing charges.
No gas or electric has been used since November.
Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

matelodave

Has she been sending in meter readings, or just refusing to pay?. If the energy co hasn't had meter readings then they try and estimate consumption unless they have been advised by sending in up to date meter reads.
She should have sent in meter readings and got the bills corrected and paid the standing charges - what did she actually do.

I guess there have been several bills since last year, so plenty of opportunity to get it sorted out before they sent in the dogs

Gerry1

It gets confusing when there are two threads...

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6193047/standing-charges

macman

Leodogger said:

No I wasn't suggesting it was the responsibility of the tenant moving out, although I have allowed her to cut her notice period in half and move after 1 month instead of 2 because she has a knee operation coming up and wanted to be out before the operation. No I merely thought that it was unfair for anyone who is not occupying a property to be forced to pay a standing charge for a service you are not using, I don't just mean for me but for anyone. Don't you agree ?

That's why its called a standing charge. You pay it whether you use gas or not. It covers the maintenance of the network, the meter reading, and billing...all these things cost money, whether you are burning gas or not.

Gerry1

Presumably your mother didn't expect her tenants to pay any rent when they were away on holiday and not using the flat?