Updating post from Reddit.
To give context, we had our apartment rented and fully managed by a very well-known Real Estate Agent. They informed us 2 weeks before the tenancy was due to end that the tenant had not paid a single heating/electricity bill since moving in. After some research, I am aware that if the bills are in the tenant's name, they are liable, not the landlord, etc.. HOWEVER, we own an apartment in a development with a master lease that essentially states we as leaseholders, are liable for all unpaid bills left by a tenant and apparently its a policy of the energy provider too - switch2. The tenant left the country and has not been contactable since. The agents, therefore, can't release the remaining deposit (some was released to cover outstanding rent) but even still, this doesn't cover the tenant's debts.
Has anyone been in a similar situation, and has any advice, or can you recommend anyone to help at least get the deposit released when the tenant has gone MIA? Is there anything we can do against the agent who were taking extortionate management fees, yet still left us with this issue - their response to the situation was - "it's quite common"
Thanks so much in advance!!
I just sent the tenancy agreement to the supplier and never had to pay anything
Same
It’s not your bill to pay. Send their details to the billers to chase them down.
I had a utility company ask me to chase my ex tenants for the balance I told them I don't work as a debt recovery agency and that's your problem, Im only ringing to inform you the bills are my responsibility from this date.
They never bothered me again after.
👌
Phone and email the current suppliers and council, send tenancy agreements ect.
Is it legal to request tenant proof of ongoing bills being paid ....? I guess not illegal..but no way to enforce compliance...
We’ve had this but had enough deposit to cover. From what we could find the master lease meant we were liable. Which is unlike normal utilities. Sadly I think it’s just a hit to you. Totally unfair. Hopefully someone else has an out we couldn’t find.
One thing it did make us do next time was keep our account access so we knew if anything was outstanding early.
From a legal standpoint, unless your terms of business with the agent states otherwise, it is the responsibility of the tenant to ensure they open accounts with utility providers during the tenancy and pay for those utilities. You would have to take action against the tenants
If the terms of business with the agent says they will transfer utilities into the tenants name but they did not do this, you may be able to get some compensation from them via the formal complaint or Ombudsman route. However it is unlikely this will make them liable for the entire debt as it's still the responsibility of the tenants to pay for utilities they used during the tenancy (both under the contract and in common law).
That said, I would have expected Switch2 to notify you or your agents when there has been no payment after a few months. They should also have cut off services after a certain period like many communal utility providers do. It may be worth challenging them on this point. If the liability falls on you to pay, you or your agents should have been notified at an early stage.
Some tenants are absolute parasites. Send it to the utility agencies. It's not your bill. They'll get caught one day. They'll have to pay more than just the bills.
How were the agents able to access some of the deposit but not all of it? Do they have it protected in a custodial or insurance scheme? If it's custodial you can apply for a Statutory Declaration to get the deposit released if tenants ignore requests to release it; if it's insurance then the agents will physically have the funds in their account and should therefore be able to release it, assuming they have followed the correct process and allowed sufficient time for the tenant to respond.
As others have said though this is not your bill and you shouldn't be liable for it, however what people seem to have overlooked is your master lease stating you're liable if a tenant doesn't pay. I'm not sure where you stand with that one.
The tenant didn't pay the last month of rent but before she left agreed to have this taken from the deposit, but she then went MIA. So we got the rent back from the deposit but the agent won't release the rest without her approval. This was 7 months ago that she left.
Yes it's not the energy company coming after us, it our management of the leasehold stating this is a clause in our leasehold agreement:
**To pay utility and amenity charges:**4.4.1 to pay all charges for electricity, water, heating, cooling telecommunications and other services consumed at or used in relation to the Property (including meter rents and standing charges) or in the event that such charges are payable by the Landlord or the Management Company to the relevant supplier or intermediary to repay them to the Landlord or Management Company (as appropriate) on demand.
Sounds like you are in a unique situation where your utilities are centrally managed by the block / estate. We had this in the past where our hot water / heat was provided from a central source. Fortunately we got rid of this company and moved to EON and they can bill the tenant directly.
In short (and if this is the case for you) then you are stuck as you should have been recharging your tenants based on the bill allocated to your property. Your AST probably has a clause saying that the tenants are responsible but that just means they should have paid you and then you should have paid the energy supplier. The energy supplier does not care about this relationship (as we have found in the past)…..