My lease clearly states that my wife and i are not responsible for water, trash and sewer charges, but each month we got billed for those utilities, after calling and calling and calling and trying to resolve the issue with the owners, they said there was nothing they could do, so we now take the total amount of those utilities out of the rent each month, its normally about $50. my landlord has served me with an eviction notice because i didnt "pay all the rent" i need some help please. THANK YOU
2007-08-19 08:18:24 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Renting & Real Estate
i have only lived here for 4 months, and up untill now the landlord hasnt said a word about taking the amount of the utilities out of the rent, just this last month he has threatened to evict us for taking it out of the rent
2007-08-19 13:45:51 · update #1
There has to be some housing authority in your locality. Look in the phone book under the city, county and/or state for housing authorities. See if they can provide some guidance.
Read your lease very carefully to see what it says about monthly payments. You can take them to small claims court.pp
2007-08-19 08:25:53 · answer #1 · answered by ttpawpaw 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
As a landlord..go ahead and let them take you to court...and bring your lease, along with the bills and show them to the judge. They will lose.
The judge will look at the landlord and say, "Well, this is YOUR lease!"
This is the one-time where it is legally acceptable to make deductions from your rent. The judge understands, that either the utilities were paid or that they would have been disconnected.
However, since your landlord is choosing to be such a jackass and not ready his own lease...also be prepared to move at the end of the lease term...b/c they don't have to renew.
2007-08-19 15:36:36 · answer #2 · answered by Expert8675309 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Make sure that this is what your lease states first. Then take a copy of it directly to your landlord (in person) and ask him or her to explain it to you. If your lease states that you are not responsible for the charges then that's that. By they way you don't say who is charging you is it the landlord or a second party. If it is a second party then you need to pay the full rent until you get this resolved........... Good Luck..............
2007-08-19 15:34:07 · answer #3 · answered by Mike S 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Stop calling and calling and calling. All correspondence at this point should be done in writing. And NO...you can not deduct the utilities from the rent....you need to go to court to do this.
2007-08-21 18:08:14 · answer #4 · answered by LILL 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have screwed up and should never have taken these amounts from the rent payments.
You should have gone to the office and stayed there until someone resolved the issue.
What do they mean the OWNER can't do anything about the situation?????????
2007-08-19 16:10:16 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your lease should stipulate exactly what you pay for and what the landlord handles. If the landlord has changed the rules in mid stream, file a complaint with the city.
2007-08-19 15:27:00 · answer #6 · answered by Alterfemego 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Sue them on Judge Judy.
2007-08-19 18:55:06 · answer #7 · answered by Leo F 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋