Downstairs flat using our electricity. What are our rights?

JPappin

My husband and I are renting a top floor maisonette and downstairs have decided to rent their flat out just recently. We've been tenants for 4 years. 

Since we've moved in we had thought our electricity bill was too high but couldn't understand why that would be. There was also an electrician living downstairs and if the estate agent sent someone out to check downstairs prior to the tenant moving in, did they do that with our property? If so, why wasn't it flagged. 

An electrician from the same estate agent as ours  for downstairs came to their flat last week and was drilling. He ended up tripping our electricity off. So we started to wonder why this would of happened. We've now come to find out (today 21/07/20) that there is an electricity cable going to the garage which is live from our fuse box, so it looks to be we've been paying the bill for that usage (lights, lawnmower and potentially a freezer), and would explain why our bill is high. 

We have now turned off two switches as of today from our fuse box (nothing turned off in our property) and will be watching to see if there is now a drop in electricity usage. There is nothing stating in our tenancy agreement about paying for anything else other than the flat we live in. 

Does anyone know of recommendations of what our next steps would be? I believe we're entitled to our money back.

**edit**: It was originally one house they converted into two properties many many years ago. New tenant has now confirmed the landlord knew we were paying for the electric to the garage. We were told the garage was for downstairs only when we moved in (by estate agent). The new tenant was also told by the estate agent that no electrics from the property go to the garage but they have now found this to be false. Also explains why the landlord has been avoiding us. 

Gerry1

Might be an idea to get real evidence that you are really powering the garage; your lower usage would not prove that it was being used in the garage.

Consider restoring the supply, wait until the new tenants move in and you see a light in the garage, the lawn being mowed, or whatever etc.  Then throw the switches and see what happens.  Or wait until it's dark, get them to turn on the garage light by telling them you think you can smell burning and / or saw a wisp of smoke seeping out of the garage door.  Meanwhile, your other half throws the switches !

A bit devious perhaps, but it avoids any unpleasantness resulting from you making any mistaken allegations, and by having firm evidence you are then in a far stronger position to flag up an irregular situation and get a refund.  If it turns out that there's nothing dodgy then there's no shame in having warned them that something might have been smouldering.

JPappin

Hi Gerry, 
Thanks for your reply.
I like your idea 😉. 
The builders today, i didn't add in the original post, had their tools plugged into a plug to the garage. We switched it off and they started using a cordless tool and was checking the one that used the main. Their due back tomorrow so we're going to see if there are any issues. 

Talldave

It's probably worth checking all the circuits on your fusebox to check that they appear to switch things on and off in your property - although that doesn't mean that those circuits don't also go elsewhere.  You could extend @Gerry1's test to the full fusebox on a dark evening.  Kill absolutely everything and see whether it causes any lights to go out downstairs.

If it has been just the garage, I don't think you're going to find you're saving more than the odd unit or two, unless there's a few kW of floodlighting on all night.

If you have a loft, it's always worth checking if any wires up there are mysteriously going through walls to adjacent properties.

JPappin

Thanks Taldave😊
Funnily enough we were just thinking of trying that. I've also been reminded that someone use to live in there (so must be converted). Definitely going to try switching things off in the evening and see if anything changes. 

Grumpy_chap

You are probably entitled to your money back.  It's probably more effort than it is worth to get the money back.

Just turn off the services that go to the neighbours and forget about it.  Only reason that would be wrong is if the power from you supplies something essential for the neighbour.

Mouldymeat3

Apart from arguments about reselling electricity, I would suggest that , unless it feeds communal safety lights, you just leave it off. If it is essential to the neighbour, that will bring its own result. If it is a bodged  or dangling hook-up that could be a liability. A problem for you could arise from activities in the out-house such as earth faults tripping all your supply and leaving your freezer or heating at risk and you not noticing it for some while.

NBLondon

When you say "maisonette" - do you mean one that was always built as two properties or was it converted?   The link may have always been there but was forgotten - or it was from when the garage was used for another purpose.  The downstairs occupants (are they also your landlord or do they own separately?) may have no idea the garage was running off your supply if the link was there before they were.

You could talk to them, trying not to suggest that they knew/set it up.   They may offer something for the usage but it would be difficult to estimate what was fair.

Or as suggested - just switch it off (pretending you don't know what it feeds) and wait for them to notice, investigate and put it right.

MWT

I would just be upfront about it, no need to be avoiding the elephant in the room, just tell them what you've discovered and ask them how they want to handle it.

rp1974

Leave the switches off,if your readings fall then your having energy stolen,whatever happens and to whom is not your problem.Might be worthwhile speaking to the landlord and or estate agent,either one or other maybe both dont know whats happening.Four years is a long time to have left things if you think theres an issue though.Depending on the answers they give if your not happy then I would report your suspicions to your supplier.Unless specifically mentioned in the tenancy agreement the only energy usage you should be metered,billed and paying for is your own.

MWT

rp1974 said:

Depending on the answers they give if your not happy then I would report your suspicions to your supplier.Unless specifically mentioned in the tenancy agreement the only energy usage you should be metered,billed and paying for is your own.

The supplier is not going to be interested in anything going on, on the customer side of the meter, that is entirely down to the landlord and the tenants.