Utilities for common areas (apartment, lease, disclosure, tenant)

[convergejd]

I separated this from my other post regarding my landlord harassing/threatening me and trying to get out of my lease because of it.

Since the beginning of his harassment, I have been combing through the lease and every other aspect of the property to try to get out of the lease, because we're feeling increasingly unsafe.

The property is a 2 flat, with only two units, the landlord living upstairs. In examining the property and my utility bills (I pay gas & electric), I believe he has me paying for the common areas of the apartment. This includes the basement (gas and electric) and all outside electricity, as well as the front vestibule. None of this was ever disclosed to us, nor does it say it in the lease.

Do you believe that this would be considered a breach of the lease by the landlord?

Also, does anyone have any suggestions how I go about finding out if I am truly being billed for these? I could ask the landlord, but he has been EXTREMELY dishonest throughout the whole thing, and I worry that he will frantically try to make changes to cover this up. I don't want to tip my hand until I have the proof.

As I said in another post, I will be consulting a lawyer soon, but I really need to get all my cards in a row.

[virgode]

Originally Posted by convergejd

I separated this from my other post regarding my landlord harassing/threatening me and trying to get out of my lease because of it.

Since the beginning of his harassment, I have been combing through the lease and every other aspect of the property to try to get out of the lease, because we're feeling increasingly unsafe.

The property is a 2 flat, with only two units, the landlord living upstairs. In examining the property and my utility bills (I pay gas & electric), I believe he has me paying for the common areas of the apartment. This includes the basement (gas and electric) and all outside electricity, as well as the front vestibule. None of this was ever disclosed to us, nor does it say it in the lease.

Do you believe that this would be considered a breach of the lease by the landlord?

Also, does anyone have any suggestions how I go about finding out if I am truly being billed for these? I could ask the landlord, but he has been EXTREMELY dishonest throughout the whole thing, and I worry that he will frantically try to make changes to cover this up. I don't want to tip my hand until I have the proof.

As I said in another post, I will be consulting a lawyer soon, but I really need to get all my cards in a row.

The only way to be certain about the electric, is to have someone from the power company check that out, or an electician. Naturally, he's going to notice someone snooping around in his building, so I don't see how your going to keep him from finding out.

[convergejd]

Originally Posted by virgode

The only way to be certain about the electric, is to have someone from the power company check that out, or an electician. Naturally, he's going to notice someone snooping around in his building, so I don't see how your going to keep him from finding out.

Good point. My uncle is an electrician/inspector and he came over to take a look at things. We are, indeed, paying for the electric for the front vestibule, the outside areas (which explains why our December electric bills were so high -- he was hanging up christmas lights), and his garage, which is disconnected from the property. It should be noted he uses a LOT of electricity on all of these. The basement lights are left on 24/7, as well as the garage, and many things plugged in to the outlets outside. We have also verified we're paying for the gas for many areas.

It would be hard to estimate how much he owes us, but I would venture a guess of over $2000 for a few years worth of utilities.

I plan to send him a certified letter at this point requesting that he 1) rectify the issue, which will require him to get an electrician to rewire the house and 2) compensate us for the utilities we should not have been paying for.

I have a feeling he may be willing to let us leave at that point...

Does this sound like a proper plan of action?

[Ultrarunner]

The only thing required in my State is that full disclosure is required if a tenant is paying for any utilities in common areas or not under their direct control...

If there is two meters... it should be very simple to turn off the circuit breaker(s) to the outside and basement circuits... and leave them off since your lease is silent...

What do you want to do?

You will need to prove how much you are owed and present him with a bill... if you cannot come to an agreement... court would be the next step.

What does your State, County or City say about common area utilities?

I had to install a separate electric service for a single 12 watt outdoor yard light at a duplex... It has been 11 years and most months it registers ZERO usage because 12 watts amounts to about 25 cents per month...

The tenant had large aquariums and also very high electric bills... the contention was my yard light was the cause... I know it wasn't but went ahead and pulled a permit anyway...

[virgode]

After your last post in the other thread, why would you want to confront him about his presumed dishonesty, he's irrational. Find out what you need to on the QT, once you've found out if you can be charged for the common area and if in fact you have been paying for it, you can take it to court after you've moved out. I wouldn't provoke this man.

[convergejd]

We are not going to confront him over his dishonesty. In talking to a lawyer, we've discovered that in Illinois, this is considered utility diversion and is a criminal offense. According to IL statute he can be liable for damages up to 3x the amount -- proving how much is the hard point, but I've been advised that the burden falls on him. We're considering pursuing legal action at this point.

Thanks for a lot of the advice here, it's been good. We're proceeding very carefully at the direction of our lawyer.