Ended the tenancy. Landlord demands payment for CHP bill.

lezion

Hello
I've been renting a flat with two other tenants. Our tenancy ended last month, and we have been renting through the agent.

Mid way through our tenancy landlord messaged us about outstanding combine heating and power utility bill.  We werent notified about of its  existence on the moving day neither by the renting agent or landlord, neither we go it through mail.

Landlord attached an invoice from the utility company to the message. Surprisingly that invoice was addressed to the landlord, in addition to that it had small text on it saying that it's landlord responsibility to make sure the bill is paid on time.

Now, considering we were utilizing heating, we said to the landlord we are willing to pay for the usage, but not for the late charges as we weren't made aware of it. We said it in the email, but he never replied.. We send it few times, still no answer so we left it unresolved. 

Now coming up to the end of the tenancy, he sent as a bill which is still addressed to him, amounting to almost 2k pounds. Question is: Should I pay it? He did not release our deposit yet, can he keep it if we refuse to pay the bill?

Thanks for the advice in advance. 

davidmcn

If you didn't find out until midway through your tenancy, what was your understanding about the utility bills up to that point? Who did you think was paying for the power/heating? And what does your tenancy agreement say about it?

macman

Your deposit should not be held by the LL, it should be in the deposit scheme. Was it not? if not, sue him for non-protection.
As above, your TA should make it quite clear what the arangement is for utility bills: if not you should have asked before signing the tenancy.

AdrianC

The norm on an AST would be that bills are the tenant's responsibility, unless explicitly stated otherwise - and the tenant would set their own accounts up.

Where three of you are sharing the property, and tenancy, you would sort it out between the three of you.

Ultimately, the landlord will put the bill to the deposit arbitrators as a deduction, and they will judge. If they judge it as fair, and withhold it, but your deposit is not sufficient, then the landlord will have good grounds to launch a small claim for the balance.

saajan_12

lezion said:

Hello
I've been renting a flat with two other tenants. Our tenancy ended last month, and we have been renting through the agent. 

Mid way through our tenancy landlord messaged us about outstanding combine heating and power utility bill.  We werent notified about of its  existence on the moving day neither by the renting agent or landlord, neither we go it through mail. - is this a proper flat, with its own meter etc? What does your tenancy agreement say about heating? Usually it would be your responsibility find, organise and pay for utilities (eg by writing to the provider and opening an account yourself)

Landlord attached an invoice from the utility company to the message. Surprisingly that invoice was addressed to the landlord, in addition to that it had small text on it saying that it's landlord responsibility to make sure the bill is paid on time. - what company was it, and is this a share of a bill with the rest of the building perhaps? What exactly did it say re LL responsibility? If it was just an account in his name, that would just be as a result of you not opening an account.  

Now, considering we were utilizing heating, we said to the landlord we are willing to pay for the usage, but not for the late charges as we weren't made aware of it. We said it in the email, but he never replied.. We send it few times, still no answer so we left it unresolved. - Based on the above, its likely your responsibility to get the utilities paid, not the LL's to make you aware - so late fees would also be yours (though perhaps directly to the utility company if that can be amended retrospectively)

Now coming up to the end of the tenancy, he sent as a bill which is still addressed to him, amounting to almost 2k pounds. - how many months worth of utilties was that? could easily rack up 2k in a year! Question is: Should I pay it? He did not release our deposit yet, can he keep it if we refuse to pay the bill? - depending on the setup, you should see if you can create an account with the utility company, giving the old date you moved in. Unfort won't have meter readings, so those will have to be estimated. If they can't and the tenancy required you to get the utilities sorted in your name, then the LL may be able to sue you or deduct for their damages (effectively the bill amount) as a result of your failure. 

Thanks for the advice in advance. 

Please quote anything in the tenancy mentioning  bills, and quote or post a picture of the bill - might help clarify the setup. 

If its standard flats with separate meters etc, and your tenancy made you responsible for utilities, then its likely the tenants had to get accounts in their names etc, regardless of whether the LL made you aware. Surely the equitable thing would be that you certainly pay the usage / standing charges and even pay the late charges, because you did nothing about utils for your whole tenancy. 

I would see if the utility company can bill you directly for the past dates, with estimated readings. They may or may not have late fees. 
If not, then they'll likely recover from the LL. You may not be directly liable to the LL for utilities, but you would be liable for the LL's damages as a result of your failure to organise the utils into your name - effectively in the amount of the bill. 
-> This could potentially be claimed via the deposit or via small claims court (which could add more fees)

lezion

Thank you for your replies. 

I will double check, but one would presumed the tenancy agreement said we are responsible. We were paying for water, electricity, internet. That's the utilities we have been covering. We were worried about the heating but we were unable to resolve the situation with the landlord. Apparently the estate has it so setup that the landlord is unable to transfer bills to the tenant for the CHP.  I am not sure what is the setup with the Meter. It was definitely not accessible to us. 

saajan_12

HampshireH

Well the bill makes it clear the landlord should be paying it and then recouping funds from you. So late fees incurred with shw.co.uk are not your responsibility.

Your tenancy agreement must have something in it though. What does it say?

Does your contact allow for late fees to be added also? There aren't any on that bill.

MaryNB

If you confirm you are liable make sure you get all the bills relating to your tenancy, not just the one with a pre Nov 2020 balance brought forward. Make sure you are only paying for the period of your tenancy. 

HampshireH

MaryNB said:

If you confirm you are liable make sure you get all the bills relating to your tenancy, not just the one with a pre Nov 2020 balance brought forward. Make sure you are only paying for the period of your tenancy. 

And you should have readings from the heat meter in your flat to be able to reconcile this properly from when you moved in to now.

maisie_cat

Are there bills to cover the bfwd balance? £200 for Dec-Feb would suggest that a year will not be £1800.
If the bill is in the LL name, did they bill you at all, or did you have sight of the bills so that you could make arrangements to pay?
In order for you to be required to make payment, you must have something to pay like an invoice from the LL or a copy of a proper bill, not something with a large mystery bfwd balance.

lezion

Landlord showed us previous bill mid way our tanancy with late charges on it written. I suppose this is summary of those late charges since then? I have no idea. I suppose it would be wise for me to ask for complete breakdown of bwfd balance?