we rented a house and are now getting hit for bills which were never discussed?

Question

are we liable for the power bill, we never had anything written down, no tenancy and the electricity was never discussed, we provided power to his out buildings and the majority of the power was used heating the place with no central heating, we often asked for things to be fixed such as plumbing so we could use the bath and other small items but they never were, where do we stand in law?

Answer 1

If you have no lease you owe nothing. If it's CLEARLY stated in a lease that you've signed then you have to pay them.

Slainte,


-D

Answer 2

What do you mean by "no tenancy"? You said you "rented a house". You either rented it or you didn't.

It is your responsibilty to make sure that all those details such as who pays for what (heat, electricity, etc) are addressed BEFORE you agree to rent.

Unless you agreed to pay for his "out buildings", he can't force you to pay for that ... but be aware that if you don't pay the bill, the utility company will cut off the power to everything and not just his "out buildings".

Unless you have a lease that says all your utilities are included, you are going to be stuck paying these bills. You can always take him to small claims for his "out building" share of the utilities after you pay the bills.

When a landlord does not make necessary repairs (like plumbing), you should just call up whomever handles housing or code enforcement in your area and have them issue the landlord a violation. Bringing all this up after the fact does not make you look credible. If it truly was an issue, you would have addressed it with the proper authorities in a timely fashion.

Answer 3

you surely would have mentionled it if you have a written lease spelling these things out. but you must not in which case that means the owner likes to have a free hand to throw people out when it suits him and he obviously doesn't believe he should have to do anything. you probably don't have deep enough pockets to fight with him or go to courst so you must abide his bully. that is what he is a big dumb bully and hewillneve change. no use talking with that kind ofperson. just pay your rent and stay under his radar for now. get through winter and pray you find a better deal somewhere else and get a detailed lease next time from a professionally managed company. study he lease and have somebody with some expertise look it over. preferably a real estate lawyer for a 100 or so. a real estate paralegal will do. take this as a lesson. don't let the hate and frustration spoil your holiday season jsut write it off to education. remember it the rest of your life. it isn't worth the aggrevation. concentrate on your job or wife or whatever. refocus away from the bad spot. do not dwell on it. you can get by in the short term it will pass and a year from now you will laugh at yourself for being young and naive about judging people for what they are. a taker, a unreasonable bully etc. they stand out like a loose nail and remember: eventually the nail that sticks up gets hammered down.

Answer 4

A lot depends on what state your in. You need to research it locally to find out what your landlords responsibilities are.

In most cases, unless stated otherwise in the lease, you would be responsible for paying utilities on whatever building you are leasing. Also, your landlord should be responsible for repairs that are not your fault. But, as I said earlier, check you local laws and carefully look at your lease to make sure there are no hidden clauses that you might have missed.

Talk to your landlord first. Document everything! Dates/Times, nature of problems & when you reported them. Keep copies of your power bills. You need to show that you made a fair effort on your part to resolve the problem. If things turn to worse you may need to break your lease & this documentation will support you if things go to court.

Good Luck!

PS - If you know a real estate agent or lawyer, it might be helpful to run it by them and get their thoughts on it. You could also do an internet search for Tenants Rights in your state. Below is a sample site that I found...

Answer 5

Power/Electricity is almost NEVER included in rent. If it was not discussed-- it means its not paid for by the landlord. Most people assume they are responsible for their own utilities.

As far as repairs, that's a seperate issue. If its something like the heater breaks or hot water tank, you can withhold rent. Small fixes you need to document and inform him on paper and follow up...eventually you can get out of your lease if you ihave one.

If you dont have a lease then you just decide if its enough to make you want to move or not.

Answer 6

I had a similar problem but not so expensive, we had to use electric heaters last christmas, we had 4 for an area of about 85 square metres, (average modern 3 bed home), it cost us £580 for our electricity for 6 months, we are slowly paying this off now. If I was realistic I would say look at moving, because if the heating is costing you £100 a month, then add about £60 of that onto the rental costs of your house and see what else is out there available. It would probably work out cheaper to have somewhere with central heating, while paying higher rental costs, and be far better for your health.

Answer 7

Why in all that is good would you enter into a tenancy arrangement w/out a lease?

That said, typically for residential leases, elec & gas are the responsibilty of the lessee. While, water, repairs, property insuarnce & real estate taxes remain the responsibility of the lessor/landlord. Sometimes these can be cahrged back to the tenant but it needs to be agreed.

My recco. is that you get an exceuted lease stating your responsibilities and what remains with the landlord.

Answer 8

It all depends on your lease agreement.

As for the repairs you asked for...unless you contacted your landlord and have a record (e-mails/certified mail) then the court couldn't determine when the items were actually not working and can't assign a value, then you can't do much. As for the power bill, you could take him to small claims court, but if its in your lease agreement, you'll just be wasting yout time.

I have an $800/mth flat rent. All utilities included and its in the lease...not sure about you...

Answer 9

The question comes down to two things; 1. What is written in your lease, as tenants? 2. Who has their name on the account with the power company? The answers to these questions will determine who has the responsibility for the payment.

Answer 10

If you have a tenancy agreement take it to a lawyer and get him to go through it with you.

I would never recommend anyone rent a place without a tenancy agreement.

Good luck I hope you can sort it. Otherwise I would just move.

Answer 11

if power was not discussed or written down that it was included, then yes you have to pay it, most rentals have the tenant paying power,,,,,,as to the bath,,,, yes the landlord should fix that,,,,, as thats a basic requirement of a place rented as a residence,,,,,,unless, there again in writing, it was excluded.... as to the out buildings,,,, if you are not using them,,,,,, that also should of been discussed, i personally would try to contact legal aid,,,,or the civil courts in your country, to get more specific rules for your state/county