[than4]

DH and his parents have an investment property. I try not to get involved as I don't really approve of the way FIL has chosen to manage it, but DH gets very stressed about it so I said I would post here.

One of the tenants has contacted him and said that other tenants have not given her money for the electricity bill so she is not going to pay it. She has also given notice to move out, citing issues with bills and similar with this other tenant.

DH is worried about what happens if the electricity gets cut off because this tenant hasn't paid the bill. Does the debt stay with her and the other tenants can reconnect the electricity? Or is the debt with the house and the landlord is responsible? They don't collect money for bills with the rent - it is the tenants responsibility - so they can't withhold money from the bond for the unpaid bills.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

ETA: Should probably say that they rent the house out by the room as FIL likes the fact that they get substantially more money doing this than renting it out as a whole.

[Frankly my Dear]

The debt will stay with the ex-tenants I believe. But if it gets disconnected it may be a PITA to get re-reconnected.

[vitaechel]

If the bills are in the tenants name then the tenant is responsible for the debt. If bills are in landlords name... they will end up paying. Most rentals have bills in tenants name for exactly that reason.

Next tenant will connect in their own name I assume, so they won't have any issues there.

This post has been edited by vitaechel: 10/01/2013, 07:14 AM

[Frankly my Dear]

Oh, just re read. Who's name is electric bill in?

[casime]

The bill will stay with whoever the name of the bill is in. So if one tenant only has her name on the electricity account, then she is solely responsible for that bill and it will stay with her and end up with a debt collection agency. A new tenant can move in and apply for an electricity account in their own name. Happened to me on a place I rented years ago. I had debt collectors show up looking for the old tenants to pay the bill, but once I showed them a copy of my lease they went away.

[than4]

Thanks for the quick replies.

The bill is in the name (solely) of the tenant. She is young and I don't think she realises that the debt will stay with her. She is just trying to prove a point to the other tenants so she gets her money.

This is why I try not to get involved. It comes down to the fact that these two tenants don't get on and can't seem to work it out. Both have raised issues with DH which are not acceptable (one not paying bills and the other leaving the keys outside for her boyfriend to let himself into the house) so short of kicking them both out they just have to learn to be adults and resolve it amongst themselves.

[countrymel]

They need to get PAYG (Pay As You Go) electricity installed is my suggestion.

Also renting by the room?
That to me sounds more like a hostel/boarding house set up than a domestic house and should in my opinion INCLUDE the bills. It is (as you have just seen) too difficult to divide things like that up with the type of transient renter who is attracted to renting 'just a room'.

The bill is in the tenant's name so the debt is also in the tenants name.

Your PILs have made this far more complicated than it needs be though.

[elmo_mum]

whose name is the bill in?

if it is in your fil name, then if the tenants choose not to pay, it is his responsibility as he is the one named on the bill


if it is in the tenants name, then he has no legal responsibility in relation to who pays what and when. if they choose not to pay and they get ot cut off, thats their bad luck

the next person to connect will have no probs, as they are not the original people named...

[**Anna**]

The fact it is being let out room by room rather than as a whole makes it tricky. I think it is really unfair if she isn't able to choose the person she is living with and even more unfair if age is made responsible for their bills. If she chose that person to live with however and the rent I'd set up differently that is different.

[emnut]

if he wants to rent the house out by the room then he needs to have the electricity in his name and charge an amount for rent including utilities so by doing it the way he has it is his mismanagement that has caused the situation.

It is not fair for other tenants to need to chase each other for money for bills when it is the landlord's dodgy dhoice to rent the house that way.