Tenant refusing to pay bills

[Deleted User]

Comms69 wrote: »

I dont understand why you arent letting out with all bills included and increase as appropriate?

I guess we thought it'd be easier to market with electricity not included (everything else is included like water, internet, etc.) And gives way for abuse if we do include all bills...

[Deleted User]

Do you take meter readings at the start of every month so you know exactly how much electricity has been used that period or is the monthly bill 1/12th of the estimated electricity use over a year? If it's the latter I'm not surprised the tenant doesn't want to pay.

[Deleted User]

Lover_of_Lycra wrote: »

Do you take meter readings at the start of every month so you know exactly how much electricity has been used that period or is the monthly bill 1/12th of the estimated electricity use over a year? If it's the latter I'm not surprised the tenant doesn't want to pay.

Yes we do. Every month we always take the exact meter reading.
We avoid doing estimates for this exact reason , that the tenant can turn round and refuse to pay.

However, despite the exact reading for last month, they are still refusing to pay.

SmashedAvacado

Op - so the "Property" as defined in your lease is the individual room that the individual lets from you?
Presumably they share the use of the kitchen and bathrooms?

Vestra

So the tenant had no control of the letting of other rooms, and if they are empty needs to pay the bills for the whole property? No wonder the tenant is refusing to pay.

gary83

sal_III wrote: »

If the deposit is enough to cover the 6 months bill, you don't have to go down the eviction route.

As a first step I would discuss this with the tenant and point out that you will deduct the amount from the deposit at the end, so they might as well start paying now or risk eviction. If they still refuse to pay, you are likely better getting rid of them sooner rather than later.

I wouldn't recommend using the deposit, the deposit is there to cover damage above fair wear and tear. I could see the scenario where the ll planned to use the deposit to cover the electricity bill then when the tenant finally moved out find lots of damage, something like cigarette or iron burns in a carpet, damage to furniture or walls, the ll would then have no deposit left to cover that damage.

Also what if the tennant doesn't move out after six months, because they're getting a good deal with their free electricity the tenancy would then become periodic and continues, the LL couldect them quickly however the deposit has now all been spent on electricity bills, how is the bill paid going forwards?

lookstraightahead

Did the tenant know before they moved in that they pay to you? It's just that the agreement you quoted doesn't say that.

Most tenants want to find their own providers for the same reasons owners do. Even my uni student daughter can manage that with her housemates!

You can't just deduct from the deposit - if I were the tenant it would go to tribunal, especially if I was unsure as to the actual amount.

Did this tenant expect to be on their own at that time? Maybe they thought there would always be others there to share the bills?

lookstraightahead

Vestra wrote: »

So the tenant had no control of the letting of other rooms, and if they are empty needs to pay the bills for the whole property? No wonder the tenant is refusing to pay.

This was exactly my thought too!

[Deleted User]

kydsnr wrote: »

Yes we do. Every month we always take the exact meter reading.
We avoid doing estimates for this exact reason , that the tenant can turn round and refuse to pay.

However, despite the exact reading for last month, they are still refusing to pay.

I submit meter readings every month but my payments are still averaged out over 12 months. In any case all you can do is politely request that the tenant pay the whole bill if that's what you think is owed. If the tenant refuses and you can't reach an agreement then you can look at starting the eviction procedure and trying to deduct the money from the deposit. I really can't say which way it could go if the tenant decides to take this to ADR.

sevenhills

kydsnr wrote: »

We are currently renting out one of our properties, and a tenant is refusing to pay their electricity bills. Under the LL agreement, they are legally responsible for paying the bills.

You say this bill is £100, for only electricity. An all electric household, rather expensive for one month, you say that you take monthly readings.
I am not surprised they dont want to pay, my entire energy bill is less than £50 per month, for a house. A person might have entered the property expecting the bill to be split 4/5 ways, then because people left, the bill is theirs alone.
As the landlord in control of this, there should be a better way of doing this.