Advice needed - landlord using our electricity

Ultrasonic

Phlik said:

[Deleted User] said:

Phlik said:

At this point I'd very very angry and would be going all in. Fuse off, visit to the police naming the landlord and the lettings agent and a visit to a solicitor.

Hi,

might need to find somewhere to live as well.

I'm sure throwing your tenants out after they've found you stealing from them will be good move, which is why I'd be reporting everything straight to the police, if the landlord wants to make their situation worse then all the better for the tenants.

The landlord doesn't have to 'throw anybody out' but could simply end the tenancy agreement with whatever the notice period is required by the contract. This may well not be what the OP wants immediately. Escalating things in the way you propose it likely to make a bad situation worse IMHO, and exploring calmer options first is definitely what I'd be doing.

Sea_Shell

razord said:

RJames said:

flick the fuse off - see how long it takes for the landlord to contact you.

This is the best way forward... you can play ignorance if they ask you about it... "Oh, my bills have been high and the electrician said this wasn't for my flat so I could leave it off".

And wouldn't that be unfortunate if that then coincided with you going away on holiday for a week or so!!!😉

Unless he has a set of keys....😲

Change the locks before you go on holiday 😇😎

elsien

Phlik said:

Archie_Duke said:

RJames you clearly haven’t read the whole thread.

The landlord already knows he’s rumbled. The estate agent (presumably one retained to manage the property by said LL) has been approached and OP says in the 1st post of this thread:

<<we were offered a one off payment of £20 by the landlords to cover costs. Does this seem right? What would you do in the circumstances?>>

The issue that remains is how much should the LL actually pay back for 5 years of receiving free electricity for the building firm and how does the OP address the issue from here. They’ve already tried switching off at the fuse to prove the connection to the other building.

 RJames said:

flick the fuse off - see how long it takes for the landlord to contact you.

At this point I'd very very angry and would be going all in. Fuse off, visit to the police naming the landlord and the lettings agent and a visit to a solicitor.

I’d be extremely surprised if the police did anything except refer to it as a civil matter. Whether it is or not is academic - they only get involved in these sorts of disputes if there’s an imminent possibility of a breach of the peace. 

Ultrasonic

Sea_Shell said:

razord said:

RJames said:

flick the fuse off - see how long it takes for the landlord to contact you.

This is the best way forward... you can play ignorance if they ask you about it... "Oh, my bills have been high and the electrician said this wasn't for my flat so I could leave it off".

And wouldn't that be unfortunate if that then coincided with you going away on holiday for a week or so!!!😉
r
Unless he has a set of keys....😲

Change the locks before you go on holiday 😇😎

I know this was a joke but FWIW: the landlord will definitely have keys and changing the locks without the landlord's consent would almost certainly breach the tenancy agreement.

For the proposed test though, there is nothing the landlord could do inside the property to reduce the energy use  . What they could do though is deliberately limit energy use in the business unit.

easy

  

 I honestly think the police would ignore this completely  "thank you sir,  we'll send someone round to look into this"  -  3 days,  3 weeks,  3 months would go by ...   nothing would happen.
At best they might speak to your landlord.  Who would very likely immediately start make other arrangements,  leaving you with a very difficult issue of getting your money back for the last 5 years.  

I wonder whether a better approach might be via the electricity company.  I wonder whether you can get a detailed report from them on daily usage over the last year? Then can you pinpoint dates when you have been away from the property,  and see what the usage has been on those dates.   That would give you a starting point of proof.
Then go and see a solicitor,  let him tell you your best options.  

A slow measured approach is likely to get you the best outcome on this.

Phlik

elsien said:

Phlik said:

Archie_Duke said:

RJames you clearly haven’t read the whole thread.

The landlord already knows he’s rumbled. The estate agent (presumably one retained to manage the property by said LL) has been approached and OP says in the 1st post of this thread:

<<we were offered a one off payment of £20 by the landlords to cover costs. Does this seem right? What would you do in the circumstances?>>

The issue that remains is how much should the LL actually pay back for 5 years of receiving free electricity for the building firm and how does the OP address the issue from here. They’ve already tried switching off at the fuse to prove the connection to the other building.

 RJames said:

flick the fuse off - see how long it takes for the landlord to contact you.

At this point I'd very very angry and would be going all in. Fuse off, visit to the police naming the landlord and the lettings agent and a visit to a solicitor.

I’d be extremely surprised if the police did anything except refer to it as a civil matter. Whether it is or not is academic - they only get involved in these sorts of disputes if there’s an imminent possibility of a breach of the peace. 

I wouldn't expect them to do anything at that point but the crime is recorded, then I'd be off to the solicitors along with my tenancy agreement and we'd go from there.

I certainly wouldn't be sitting back and waiting for the landlord to make the first move.

Gerry1

Ultrasonic said:

Sea_Shell said:

razord said:

RJames said:

flick the fuse off - see how long it takes for the landlord to contact you.

This is the best way forward... you can play ignorance if they ask you about it... "Oh, my bills have been high and the electrician said this wasn't for my flat so I could leave it off".

And wouldn't that be unfortunate if that then coincided with you going away on holiday for a week or so!!!😉
r
Unless he has a set of keys....😲

Change the locks before you go on holiday 😇😎

I know this was a joke but FWIW: the landlord will definitely have keys and changing the locks without the landlord's consent would almost certainly breach the tenancy agreement.

It's unlikely that the landlord has the right to enter unannounced except in emergency, so he wouldn't know.  (Entering the property to resume the theft of energy is not a legitimate emergency IMHO.)

In any case as long as it's only the barrel that's changed it won't matter because the OP can change it back before quitting the premises so there's no breach because there's no permanent alteration.

Mstty

Could I ask what your energy use is for a year and how many people and bedrooms you have. 

The reason being you stated when you switched off the circuit breaker linked to the back building the lights went off. Maybe it's just the lights or maybe it's more but you can reasonably work out average use for people/size of property and whether it's electricity only for all heating, water etc or gas and electricity.

Slinky

You haven't said how much your bills are.

woolly_wombat

Formally reject the landlord’s offer of payment and keep schtum about what you plan to do next.

Obtain a report from an electrician that specifically outlines details of the commercial circuit attached to your domestic meter.

Get advice from Citizen’s Advice and Shelter on your legal rights and how to proceed next.

This rogue landlord is committing multiple offences and needs to be brought to book.