Being overcharged for utilities by landlord (apartment, lease, credit)

[pinckney]

my landlord and i live together the house has like 5 bedrooms and we just divided it with him having 3 bedrooms and me 2....there is only one meter for the water and one for the electric so we share the bill. I went to him yesterday to look at the bills and was shocked to find out that i pay $150.00 monthly on a $260.00 bill when its just me on my side and on his side its him, his mother, and a couple of other people.(obviously with me not using as much water and electric as they do)... i've been here for a year and am afraid that this has been happening since i first moved in. I need some professional opinions as far as my legal tenant rights and what should i do?

[Capt Rick Hiott]

,,,,,,,,,,,move

[Luvsdabeach]

I second that idea.....move!

[clanaxberg]

Sounds like you are between a rock and a hard place. You say you have been there for a year, tot up your expenses, including utility bills to live there, if you are paying more or less the same as a 1bed/bath apartment, I would advise you to look into moving out.

If you are saving money by doing the 'house share' and the other expenses are pretty fair, I would just continue paying the $150. It may be just worthwhile accepting that you are paying for more than your fair share. If you decide to confront him on this issue, your relationship will deteriorate....only you can decide if you can live with that decision.

Good luck!

[magnasty]

Did you sign a contract stipulating what percentage of the utilities you would pay? If not, you may be up the creek. Based on the number of people in the house, you should be only paying one-fifth of the utilities.

If this persists and you cannot live with it, you will simply have to move.

[Techgeek]

Option 1: Suck it up and keep paying it. If it's cheaper than you would be paying on your own or if you cannot afford the deposits and such associated with getting your own place and your own utilities, then you are coming out ahead.

Option 2: Move out. If you're getting worked over and you are in a situation where you can go out on your own, do it.

Option 3: Confront him about it. Be prepared for him to kick you out at the end of your lease. He's the one taking all the risk here. If you don't pay him one month then his credit will reflect the non payment not yours. If you miss your rent payment he will have to pick up the slack and he is trusting you to pay things on time.

I guess you could possibly take him to court but unless you have something in writing, you won't get very far.