Advice please: Landlord won't pay for utility bills or council tax

rtsstuop · 19 September 2017 at 11:13PM

My friend rents out a room in a 2 bed flat so it's shared between 3 people. Her monthly rent is inclusive of all bills

Her landlord recently started transferring bills into her name insisting they cannot pay yet her contract with them states they need to pay for bills

She has been able to get the council tax moved out of her name which they owed £2k on, she has now received a letter stating she owes £500 in water bills

The concern here is that she is leaving her rented place this week and is worried that when she leaves will they continue to transfer ie gas electric bill into her name without her knowing? She's moving into her own flat she has bought and is concerned it will cause her issues with credit/debt if her ex landlords keep moving their bills into her name just to buy sometime paying it

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

molerat · 20 September 2017 at 11:27PM

Has she got it in writing that the LL is responsible for all bills ?

footyguy · 21 September 2017 at 11:04AM

molerat wrote: »

Has she got it in writing that the LL is responsible for all bills ?

You perhaps missed this bit?

rtsstuop wrote: »

...
Her landlord recently started transferring bills into her name insisting they cannot pay yet her contract with them states they need to pay for bills...

footyguy · 21 September 2017 at 11:06AM

rtsstuop wrote: »

My friend rents out a room in a 2 bed flat so it's shared between 3 people. Her monthly rent is inclusive of all bills

Her landlord recently started transferring bills into her name insisting they cannot pay yet her contract with them states they need to pay for bills

She has been able to get the council tax moved out of her name which they owed £2k on, she has now received a letter stating she owes £500 in water bills

The concern here is that she is leaving her rented place this week and is worried that when she leaves will they continue to transfer ie gas electric bill into her name without her knowing? She's moving into her own flat she has bought and is concerned it will cause her issues with credit/debt if her ex landlords keep moving their bills into her name just to buy sometime paying it

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

You can't usually set up bills to be in someone else's name.
That would effectively be creating a contract between 3rd parties only.

If it were possible, I would put all my bills in the name of Theresa May, and I'm sure many others would follow suit.

I suggest you get your friend to come here so we can get to the truth of the situation before offering advice, if that is what is hoped for

Good luck!

CIS · 21 September 2017 at 11:57AM

In respect of council tax the key is the contract - is it a joint tenancy or are they just renting rooms ?

Regardless of what agreement has been made with the landlord the only aspect that the council are bothered about is that which is covered by legislation - any other agreement is between the tenants and the landlord only.

Craig

rtsstuop · 23 September 2017 at 12:03AM

Thanks for your replies!

She is just renting a room and so is the other couple in the same flat.
The council turned up at the block of flats about missed payments and the landlord said that my sister owned the flat and he gave her name which is when the council tax was changed and when she questioned this with her landlord he said that they couldn't afford to pay for the council tax and moved it into her name

Her contract states that the landlord pays all bills and she pays a monthly room rent of £900

The same happened with the water - the company turned up about payment and they told them again that my sister owned the flat and her name

CIS · 23 September 2017 at 11:37AM

rtsstuop wrote: »

Thanks for your replies!

She is just renting a room and so is the other couple in the same flat.
The council turned up at the block of flats about missed payments and the landlord said that my sister owned the flat and he gave her name which is when the council tax was changed and when she questioned this with her landlord he said that they couldn't afford to pay for the council tax and moved it into her name

Her contract states that the landlord pays all bills and she pays a monthly room rent of £900

The same happened with the water - the company turned up about payment and they told them again that my sister owned the flat and her name

If she is just renting a room then she needs to go to the council - she cannot be liable for the council tax charge as the property is a Council Tax HMO . For a Council Tax HMO the landlord's name has to go on the demand notice, not the occupiers. This is another query that I'm seeing more of at the moment from my clients, it appears to be becoming more common.

The landlord may have an agreement with the occupiers for them to refund him but that is purely a private arrangement over which the council aren't interested.

Cardew · 23 September 2017 at 12:00PM

footyguy wrote: »

You can't usually set up bills to be in someone else's name.
That would effectively be creating a contract between 3rd parties only.

If it were possible, I would put all my bills in the name of Theresa May, and I'm sure many others would follow suit.

You are correct - However!

As we now don't sign contracts with utility companies, a phone call to the company is normally all it takes to change the name on the account.

Over the years on MSE we have had loads of posts from people in shared houses(often students) who have found, to their surprise, that a utility account has been put in their name.

footyguy · 23 September 2017 at 3:11PM

Cardew wrote: »

You are correct - However!

As we now don't sign contracts with utility companies, a phone call to the company is normally all it takes to change the name on the account.....

I don't try to argue against you on the fact that signed, written contracts are often not the norm nowdays for things like utility accounts.

However, suppliers setting up such accounts will often ask for confirmation you are who you say you are, and will usually take security questions to ensure they can check a future call is also from you.

Of course, there are criminals out there and some do act contrary to the Fraud Act 2006. If you believe you are the victim of crime, contact the police who have a duty to investigate.

footyguy · 23 September 2017 at 3:15PM

rtsstuop wrote: »

...the landlord said that my sister owned the flat ...

Sounds like your sister is quids in :money:

Who is this landlord, and do they have any other property they are willing to give away, e..g. to me?

Was the change of ownership registered with the land registry?

Cardew · 23 September 2017 at 4:10PM

footyguy wrote: »

I don't try to argue against you on the fact that signed, written contracts are often not the norm nowdays for things like utility accounts.

However, suppliers setting up such accounts will often ask for confirmation you are who you say you are, and will usually take security questions to ensure they can check a future call is also from you.

My son bought an unmetered house in the Severn Trent(ST) area. The house had been unoccupied for over a year and was owned by a bank - the previous owner had owned it through a company that went bust.

Worried that there might be 12 months + of bills I rang ST and told the operator that Cardew Junior had bought the house with a completion date of xxxxx.

A bill came in his name a week or two later for the period to April. He paid that bill and for the last couple of years he gets 6 monthly bills which he pays. He doesn't have an on-line account, and doesn't pay by DD.

Advice please: Landlord won't pay for utility bills or council tax

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free