Utility Bill for Empty Period

TripleH

I'm inclined to believe user1977.

I had to houseshare with a complete creatine who would put the thermostat on to maximum and leave the windows open.

Realistically if the tenant had 'broken' the thermostat on maximum and left without telling you then you would have a chance to claim off of them but you'd have to show you had taken steps to minimise any losses you had incurred (by getting it fixed in days and finding another way to reduce the heating).

1616six

Flyingknight73 said:

Ok thanks for your replies

i checked the inventory checkout report and zooming in on one of the photos I can just about see the thermostat set to the highest setting. 

Since the tenant accepted and signed off this checkout report do I have a case? Or  is the agent still liable?

I couldn’t see in the agent’s managed service agreement anything about utilities or heating specifically. 

I still don’t get why you are trying to find ways to chase the previous tenant for this.

Unless you have something in your contract that says “tenant must leave thermostat on 0c upon vacation of the property” you don’t have a leg to stand on.

They have left it on a temperature, whether it be 10c, 20c or 35c doesn’t really matter. If you wanted the heating to be left completely off whilst the property was vacant, why didn’t you instruct the management company to do this?

Im honestly baffled. 

Flyingknight73

I am quite annoyed at what feels like a revenge move from the tenant. 

Taking into account all of your responses I will focus my efforts on chasing the agent on this. 

Thank you for your help

TheJP

Flyingknight73 said:

Ok thanks for your replies

i checked the inventory checkout report and zooming in on one of the photos I can just about see the thermostat set to the highest setting. 

Since the tenant accepted and signed off this checkout report do I have a case? Or  is the agent still liable?

I couldn’t see in the agent’s managed service agreement anything about utilities or heating specifically. 

Did you stipulate that the thermostat must be set low on departure and again can you prove the tenant was the one who turned it up? You've got a lot of straws in your hand, why aren't you focusing on the people you pay to manage your property!

MalMonroe

Hi, yes, I also think you should chase the agent because you pay them to act on your behalf. If they fail then they should be made to pay. If it were just a friend or a neighbour trying to do you a good turn then it would be a totally different matter.

But I don't understand about continuing with the same energy company because whenever I've left a property - I've left quite a few - we've always taken final readings and submitted them and paid the bill and then the supply has ceased until the next person comes along to register with their preferred energy company. Otherwise, during any interim period there are standing charges to be paid, at the very least.

In your case, though, the agent has failed spectacularly in their duty to you. If you are not in the country then it will obviously have to fall to them to act responsibly. Whether or not the tenant was being vengeful, if the property had been inspected properly by the agent it wouldn't have mattered. 

housebuyer143

MalMonroe said:

Hi, yes, I also think you should chase the agent because you pay them to act on your behalf. If they fail then they should be made to pay. If it were just a friend or a neighbour trying to do you a good turn then it would be a totally different matter.

But I don't understand about continuing with the same energy company because whenever I've left a property - I've left quite a few - we've always taken final readings and submitted them and paid the bill and then the supply has ceased until the next person comes along to register with their preferred energy company. Otherwise, during any interim period there are standing charges to be paid, at the very least.

In your case, though, the agent has failed spectacularly in their duty to you. If you are not in the country then it will obviously have to fall to them to act responsibly. Whether or not the tenant was being vengeful, if the property had been inspected properly by the agent it wouldn't have mattered. 

You can't just end a supply. When you cease being the paying body, the bills are sent to the owner to pay the standing charges, there is no way away from them unless you disconnect the supply. But that would be very expensive to reinstate.

I had to pay £30 a month recently for nothing, just standing charges on an emptyb house

sidneyvic

Not a chance of claiming off anyone. It is your responsibility no one elses. And how were you paying the agent to manage the property when it was empty. ? They take a cut if the rent which when empty is zero. They also seemed to have an issue renting the place in a red hot market....Why did it take 3 months ? Overpriced ?
A valuable lesson as a land lord is a good tenant is worth his weight in gold and increasing the rent by an unreasonable amount doesn't go down well with good tenants. 
So 3 months void, re-letting fees, 2k bill, how long is it going to take to recoup that when you could have just increased the rent  by a reasonable amount....

BikingBud

Quite lucky really, it might have been someone left a tap on and had water charges as well, or left the heating turned off over winter and found there were frozen pipes, it could have been significantly more expensive.

I would expect a competent agent to "prepare" the property for a known void period, this might include turning heating off or down to frost protection, if in winter, ensure immersion heater is off, turning off and leaving fridge/freezer doors ajar.  I would also expect to give further instruction, period checks to be undertaken if it had been vacant for more than 3-4 weeks. But if you did not have that discussion or agreement then you are likely exposed.

I would also want be very clear on what the insurance position would be for void periods.

LegallyLandlord

This is awful! I write this as a self-managing landlord and former lawyer...

This was not the responsibility of the inventory clerk - they just take photos and write up the condition of the property.

It was not the responsibility of the tenant either - they left the property, paid the bills until they left, after that it's not down to them. Yes, it would have been good for them to turn of the heating, but it was not their responsibility to do so.

What were the agents employed to do by you after the tenants left. Did you agree anything re what they were to do while it was empty? Were you paying them in this time? (Normally no fees if no rent). Have you check their T&Cs, and what they say on their website.

Presumably they did check the property themselves afterwards? For instance, doing viewings?  Usually it's a condition of landlord insurance to check the property when it's unoccupied.

Must say I find it incredulous they took 3 months to find tenants at a period with all time high renter demand.

In any event, I'd say they have a duty of care to check the property. Surely they'd have noticed it was hot when they went in. But then it's not always easy to tell if the thermostat is off, depending on the thermostat.

It's worth going through their complaints department. I'd also change agents!! 

Lessons going forward:

* I fit Google Nest Learning Thermostats in all my rental properties. It's good for the renters to help them keep down the cost of heating. It's also really easy to see if it's left on. It did cost £300 but it's worth it.
* Have a check list of things you want the agents to look for during voids - agree exactly what they are going to do.
* Do check your properties yourself in between tenants. I know you're paying someone else to, but they don't always do their job.
* Do consider self-managing - you'll save yourself a fortune. I also self-let using Openrent and found it easy to find tenants myself in June.

Hope that helps.

Suzanne 

theartfullodger

Flyingknight73 said:

I am quite annoyed at what feels like a revenge move from the tenant. 

Taking into account all of your responses I will focus my efforts on chasing the agent on this. 

Thank you for your help

It's not tenant responsibility.  You, the utilities account holder, are responsible.  You probably have a case against agent.

Re-engage with maturity, pay the bills, then negotiate/sue agent.

Done any training in how to be a landlord?