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I moved into a flat in March of this year and received the welcome email outlining who the utilities etc were set up with and who I needed to speak to to set up accounts. It was the typical Electic (no gas), Water and Council Tax.
A few weeks after moving out, I was told there was a heating and hot water provider I was never told about and that this wasn't part of my electric bill - resulting in a surprise bill that I not only had to cover but I had to agree to give it to the landlord out of my deposit otherwise the deposit would be withheld indeterminately.
This is pretty alarming:
1) I have no qualms about paying a bill that is due, however, only telling me a bill is due after I've moved out is incompetent at best and deceitful at worst. I thought I had tight control over my energy costs but this has essentially doubled my bills over the last 6 months. Hardly helpful during a time when energy costs are through the roof. If I'd known my energy usage was going to be double what I thought it was, I could have tried to moderate my usage even more.
2) I shouldn't have to give the landlord anything towards the bill - if the debt is between me and the utility provider, the landlord is irrelevant and it isn't grounds for withholding a deposit
The TDS says "In general terms, the landlord must show that they have suffered a loss in order to claim from the tenancy deposit. If the utilities are not paid, it doesn’t always mean that the landlord has suffered a financial loss."
Shelter says "Your landlord can only withhold your deposit for unpaid bills if it has cost them money.
For example, if the gas company installed a prepayment meter and your landlord has to pay to change it back before they rent out the property again.
Your landlord cannot keep your deposit just because you have not paid your final energy bills. Your debt is to the energy company not the landlord."
So if the bill is in my name (no one has ever actually sent me a bill so I have no clue whether it is or isn't), the landlord hasn't faced any cost and therefore any proposed deduction or withholding is unlawful.
Apparently, this is common practice - I spoke to one property manager who has done their best to help and they sounded quite distressed when describing how they're the one who has to have these difficult conversations with unknowing former tenants.
My concern here is that heating and hot water are covered as part of the landlord's service charge and they're trying to coerce me into covering their bill despite it not being written in the AST or outlined from the point of moving in.
Furthermore, if the bill and account should rightfully have been in my name, I can't see how it's above board to not give the bill payer any information on who the fixed provider is, ways to track usage and granular usage/unit costs.
Hopefully unscrupulous agents are the next focus as part of Renter's Reform... Read more
10th Oct 2024 (23 weeks ago)