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[Deleted User]
Posts: 0 Newbie
Hi all,
Bit of a difficult/unique question, and this is the first time it has ever happened to us - can't seem to find another answer to this specific case.
We are currently renting out one of our properties, and a tenant is refusing to pay their electricity bills. Under the LL agreement, they are legally responsible for paying the bills.
However, we do this by having them pay the amount to us (landlords), and then we pay the electricity company, as it is under our name. We do this because we have individual tenants moving in and out every 6 months, and figured it would be easier for them to pay through us. I understand it should have been in their name to avoid all the trouble but we've never had this issue before in the 5 years we've been renting out to people and didn't know better beforehand.
We spoke to the electricity company, and they said we are liable as it is under our name, but once they escalate the bill to a debt collection agency, as long as we can prove that the tenant lived at the address, then they might chase after the tenant rather than us.
My question is, is an LL agreement enough to prove to the debt collection agency that they lived at the address? (I've heard that it isn't), and if not, is there another way to resolve this issue?
Or what is the best way to go about a tenant who is refusing to pay the bills?
Bit of a difficult/unique question, and this is the first time it has ever happened to us - can't seem to find another answer to this specific case.
We are currently renting out one of our properties, and a tenant is refusing to pay their electricity bills. Under the LL agreement, they are legally responsible for paying the bills.
However, we do this by having them pay the amount to us (landlords), and then we pay the electricity company, as it is under our name. We do this because we have individual tenants moving in and out every 6 months, and figured it would be easier for them to pay through us. I understand it should have been in their name to avoid all the trouble but we've never had this issue before in the 5 years we've been renting out to people and didn't know better beforehand.
We spoke to the electricity company, and they said we are liable as it is under our name, but once they escalate the bill to a debt collection agency, as long as we can prove that the tenant lived at the address, then they might chase after the tenant rather than us.
My question is, is an LL agreement enough to prove to the debt collection agency that they lived at the address? (I've heard that it isn't), and if not, is there another way to resolve this issue?
Or what is the best way to go about a tenant who is refusing to pay the bills?
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Comments
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Naaaa, the electric company has no contract with the tenant.
You will have to do your own debt collecting, best you pay the bill chop chop incase they start to issue CCJ's against you.0 -
I highly doubt the electricity provider will bother chasing the tenant, as they don't have a contract with them. On the other hand they have a perfectly good and valid contract with you.
The fact that you have a downstream contract with the tenant to pay you back the electricity is irrelevant to both the electricity provider and potential debt collector.
I would suggest you keep paying the electricity provider, or risk trashing your credit record. Then serve notice to the tenant to terminate the tenancy and recoup the outstanding balance from the security deposit at the end.0 -
We do this because we have individual tenants moving in and out every 6 months, and figured it would be easier for them to pay through us.
My question is, is an LL agreement enough to prove to the debt collection agency that they lived at the address? (I've heard that it isn't), and if not, is there another way to resolve this issue?
So they have moved out already, they move out/in every six months, are they lodgers or tenants?
What does the agreement say and how much is the bill. It will cost you time and money to chase this.0 -
I highly doubt the electricity provider will bother chasing the tenant, as they don't have a contract with them. On the other hand they have a perfectly good and valid contract with you.
The fact that you have a downstream contract with the tenant to pay you back the electricity is irrelevant to both the electricity provider and potential debt collector.
I would suggest you keep paying the electricity provider, or risk trashing your credit record. Then serve notice to the tenant to terminate the tenancy and recoup the outstanding balance from the security deposit at the end.
Okay thank you very much - that sounds more like a better solution actually.
The only issue is they still have just under 4 months left of their 6 months fixed term tenancy contract, so slightly wary about the grounds in which to kick them out, as they have only been at the property for 2 months.
We'll just have to see if they pay they are willing to pay the bills for the remaining months..0 -
sevenhills wrote: »So they have moved out already, they move out/in every six months, are they lodgers or tenants?
What does the agreement say and how much is the bill. It will cost you time and money to chase this.
They are tenants, we sign fixed term contracts with them. Some sign 6, some sign 12.
As it's a flatshare, they all don't know each other, and tend to come and leave at different times throughout the year.
The agreement says they are responsible for all bills, but as mentioned, because it's a downstream process, I can still be liable for the bills, directly with the company. The bill I'm chasing for is £100. I guess I can deduct it from their deposit when they leave. Just wary that they will not continue to pay the bills up until their tenancy ends0 -
So it’s a HMO?0
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If it's a single property with multiple individual tenancies, how do you determine who owes what in terms of utilities? It would probably be easier in the future to make the rent inclusive of bills.0
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1) pay the bill!
2) demand payment, in writing, from the tenant
3) serve S21 as soon as 4 months of tenancy is up (not before!) to expire at end of 6 month fixed trm
4) consider serving a S8 G12 as well.
5) use deposit,and/or small claims, to recoup the debt
Read:
S21 checklist (Is a S21 valid?)0 -
Lover_of_Lycra wrote: »If it's a single property with multiple individual tenancies, how do you determine who owes what in terms of utilities? It would probably be easier in the future to make the rent inclusive of bills.
Which is why this is a specific case. Usually we split it between the tenants at the end of each month. If there is one tenant, they pay all of it, but if there's three, they divide it etc.
But for this case, there was only one tenant in that flatshare for that particular month. Which meant they were responsible for it.0 -
What is the wording in the tenancy agreement.....?Which is why this is a specific case. Usually we split it between the tenants at the end of each month. If there is one tenant, they pay all of it, but if there's four, they divide it, etc.
But for this case, there was only one tenant in that flatshare for that particular month. Which meant they were responsible for it.0
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