I have vacated after tenancy ended, huge outstanding energy utility bill requested from ex-flatmate

Conquest19

Hello Nearlyold, the ex-flatmate is not the landlord. He is just a tenant. We're both joint tenants.
The real landlord lives in Cyprus I think

zemarcopolo

The question to ask yourself is " did I use this much energy?". If the answer is yes, then morally (and probably legally too) you have to pay the bill.

The fact that regular readings were not taken is not a reason to refuse paying. You can however use it as a reason to refuse lumpsum payment and pay the bill in instalments according to your circumstances. 

csgohan4

get a copy of the bill as well to ensure it is what they say it is. If their not bothering to take regular meter readings, what else are they hiding or not doing

[Deleted User]

It's surely significant that the other tenant had been in the flat for 4 years before OP moved in.  So the suspicion has to be that a proportion of this bill is a historic debt for usage incurred before the OP moved in.   And the other tenant is trying it on to see if OP will help settle their debt.

I would ask for exact dates from the energy company for what period this bill relates to.   You may still have to pay the proportion of it that can be shown to relate to the last year.  But it might be £150 rather than £500...

MaryNB

Conquest19 said:

I don't think I should pay a penny because:

• he told me the energy bills are £37.50p per person each month which I paid on time
• he should have taken regular meter readings each month, but he only did 1 reading during my stay
• he had the key access the meter which I knew nothing about
• he was responsible to check the balances as the letters were digitally sent to him.

Also he sent me a screenshot of the balance online each month and I can CLEARLY see it was going up A LOT. Yet he tells me this now after a 2nd meter reading.
I don't owe anything right?
Sorry if I sound like a d*u*ck but I really don't think I do

Make sure you check that the £1055 doesn't include anything from before you moved in. You need to focus on the Feb 20 and Feb 21 meter readings. While it doesn't align exactly with your tenancy, the monthly balances between this will just be based on the energy company's estimate. The difference between the Feb readings will give you an idea of what you probably used over 12 months. Ask him for the full bills, not just the balance.

Since only his name (presumably) is on the bills, the utility company can only come after him for the outstanding amount. However he could attempt to chase you for it using the small claims court but I've never used it so not sure how they'd weigh his original request for a fixed amount against the terms of the tenancy agreement.

I've learned from my own mistakes while renting not to rely on someone being entirely responsible for bills. If you asked him to check the meter and he refused to keep on top of the bills I'd tell him where to go but it seems from your original post that you relied on him. Unfortunately you're responsible for paying under the tenancy agreement and if you used that much energy well then you need to pay for it. Energy costs are subject to change and need to be carefully managed, taking meters readings is a key part of this so it's not as easy as saying you didn't know about access to the meter or that a meter wasn't mentioned in the tenancy agreement. It's very easy for usage to deviate significantly from monthly payments if meter readings are not regularly submitted. I think you need to take this as a lesson learned. I made the mistake of relying on a housemate to look after bills and realised we were paying 20% extra because she had us on the highest tariff (to make matters worse she worked in a customer services in a different energy company so should have known better).

Only way I could possibly see 2 people using that much is if you had the immersion heater on all the time, but this can easily be done if someone doesn't set the timer correctly. Or maybe just had to heating on far too much.

greatcrested

Poster_586329 said:

It's surely significant that the other tenant had been in the flat for 4 years before OP moved in.  So the suspicion has to be that a proportion of this bill is a historic debt for usage incurred before the OP moved in.   And the other tenant is trying it on to see if OP will help settle their debt.

Perhaps.But that is conjecture.

Only by examining the bill, and the meter readings, can this be proved or disproved.

But it does not alter the act that OP is liable for half the cost of energy used during the tenancy.

Conquest19

Hello MaryNB and Nearlyold
These are the only non-estimate bills my ex-flatmate sent to me. Also my tenancy was 21 Dec 2019 - 20 Dec 2020 so not sure what happens outside these dates.
---
(1st meter reading)4 February 2020 printed on letter below:
It looks like £122.18 debt was carried over on the 4 February 2020 but not sure

(2nd meter reading)4 February 2021 printed on letter below:

daivid

Poster_586329 said:

£75 per month for gas and electric for a two-bed flat does sound like a low estimated price.   I can see how the reality will have been higher, especially in a year when you'd both have been home more than usual.  I live in a 2-bed flat, and during the winter months a bill of £100 a month is quite common.

I don't think its low at all! This year I will be paying £79 per month in a 4bed detached, until January I was fixed at £63 and built up a surplus in my account. Living in a 2 bed mid terrace (5 years ago) I payed £45 per month. Lifestyle will impact on costs but as we heat our house to 20*C 24/7 I don't think we are being particularly frugal (in the terrace we only heated evening and early morning). 

As to your winter months comment I typically notice 3 expensive heating months, but in contrast we typically have 6 months where no heating is required at all and another 2 when only needed sporadically. 

NinjaTune

Did your flatmate have any grow lights in the loft ...

Seems quite a hefty amount for a 2 bed flat.  I was paying around £150 a month for a 4 bed detached house in winter, less during summer months.

[Deleted User]

When you moved in was there an actual reading or an estimate. You are liable for 50% to the other tenant but as he would be the claimant in a dispute there is onus on him to show that the bill relates to your joint tenancy and is not formed of historic debts from the previous 4 years. I have to think that 75 per month on average though the year for a 2 bed flat is about right.