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This is an interesting point. However, the "tenant" is only a "tenant" when until they deliver the property to the landlord. If they were still a tenant they would have a right to occupy the unit. And their responsibility of safeguarding the unit ends when they deliver possession of the unit to the landlord, then it is the landlord's responsibility. If the tenants agreed to do this explicitly in exchange for being released from the lease then thats different but I doubt that the case, since if they did they wouldn't be asking if they had to do it.
In this case, the landlord was offered a settlement that would pay two thirds of the total rent and turned it down. She had been informed of the poor condition of the air conditioner and that the inefficiency of the unit would make it really expensive to run. THEN she contacted us again saying we must maintain 78 degrees. When we moved in there was no air on and the unit was fine, dirty but fine. It is her insistence that we keep it at 78 that pushed us to this. We are going to return the keys to her once the utilities are shut off and let the cards fall where they may. The settlement offer of $2200 and forfeit of security deposit is still on the table for her to accept.
Tell her to put the utilities in her name like every other landlord I know of including myself.
No, no, no! You tell somebody to put utilities in their name, and the first thing they are going to do after they close their door is mutter, "The hell I will!"
YOU set a date and place the order to take the utilities out of your name, and after the order is placed THEN tell the landlord they should place an order to turn on service in their name or deal with not having utilities.
Telling somebody as contrary as this landlord to do something can almost guarantee they won't do it.
Shady landlords will try this kind of nonsense. I once moved out of a place with notice, on the appropriate date, turned on utilities at my new place etc etc, and received a bill months later for the utilities between the time I left and the new tenants moved in. ROFL. I called their little office and told them nice try, never heard another peep.
Once I move out, the utilities are being taken out of my name. I don't care what the utility company does with the billing, just so long as I get a final reading the day I turn over the keys.
So what if it's five years old. People want an answer to the question. I've lived in three apartments within 15 years and in 2 out of the 3 cases, I had to pay the utilities. The third apartment I moved out when the normal lease was up. I have an excellent credit rating, so I paid up so it wouldn't be in jeopardy.
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