Suspect I am paying for neighbor's utitlities (apartment, rental)

[oh2sail]

I live in a ground-floor flat with my landlord above me, and what I have been told is an "illegal" apartment below (it has no number or mailbox). For a number of very good reasons, I highly suspect that I am paying for my downstairs neighbor's gas and electric. The meters are in the downstairs area which has a locked gate. Is there any way I can find out? I've asked my landlord once (in a casual, offhanded way) and he denied it strongly, so I'd like to figure out a way in which he's not involved in any way.

It's a small flat, and I don't take long showers, don't run the heat, don't run the oven. I use the gas stove only occasionally, use a microwave, and the obvious fridge. No washing machine or dishwasher or anything like that. No TV.

My bills always run about $50, which seems high to me. Sometimes when I'm in the shower, the water will run hot and then cold, as if someone somewhere is taking hot water off the same heater as mine. For a while, the fuses kept blowing for no apparent reason (they are also in the locked area). And a year ago, when my roommate didn't pay the bill and the elect got shut off, my landlord knew it was shut off immediately. He said "I just happened to be looking at your meter and noticed it stopped." That's highly unlikely.

Anyone have any advice? Anyone have a similar experience?

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

I don't know how you would do it if you didn't involve the utility company.

I guess you could pay a private electrician to take a look at where it all went.

I would be REALLY annoyed I have to tell you. Do you have access to the breaker box?? I might be tempted to hit the breaker and turn off the power to everything and see what happens to your neighbors power. That won't tell you anything about the gas though.

You might call the gas company and ask them what they have on record. My gas company has on record that my home has a gas stove and a gas water heater on this account. Something similar might be recorded with your company.

Good luck.

[artemis78]

Call your utility company directly and explain the situation (or if that's uncomfortable, just explain that you're concerned about your usage, etc.). PG&E will provide historical usage for addresses and can also tell you what average use is for a place your size with your appliances; I imagine other companies do the same. While you're at it, you can compare it to your landlord's usage and see if there's an account for the downstairs apartment, too. As far as I know, they provide this info to any member of the public, so it shouldn't matter which unit you live in. They will also do energy audits to help you identify where you can save energy--that would also turn up any inconsistencies. For what it's worth, we pay the same for gas + electric in a small single-family house with a washer/dryer (and heat!), so that does sound high (assuming you're in PG&E territory and your rates are the same).

Good luck!

[alkilass]

Do you have a 24 hour fitness or gym close to your house? You could always let the power stay off for a few weeks and see what kind of feathers that ruffles. You could always shower at the gym. Maybe your landlord is the one using your utilities.

[geeberkelee]

Hi, I potentially have the same problem as oh2sail. I've finally decided to turn my gas off for a day or two to see what happens. In the likely event that someone complains, what can I do? I can't afford a lawyer. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[artemis78]

My guess is that the complaint won't come to you, unless your neighbor(s) know that you're the one footing the bill. They'll call the gas company, who in turn will track down the problem and should then notify your landlord. If you want, you can let the gas company know what's up so they'll keep you posted of any developments. We have PG&E and they've always been super responsive on this sort of thing (though that may vary regionally). There are potential legal implications for your landlord if the setup is because one of the units is illegal, but you shouldn't need a lawyer on your end. You might ask the gas co. for more info, including an estimate of use for the units if it does turn out the line is shared, and then just let your landlord know you'll be withholding that from your rent check for the next month in exchange for having paid those bills.

Good luck!

[Ultrarunner]

In CA it is illegal for a tenant to pay utilities not being used by the tenant unless it is spelled out in the rental agreement.

About 15 years ago, I managed a duplex and one of the tenants requested a light for the common driveway. I installed a 12 watt outdoor florescent that cost less than 25 cents per month to operate and PGE verified the cost.

Shortly after I installed the light, the tenant started to raise salt-water fish which caused the electric bill to double.

In the course of contesting the bill, it was determined the driveway light requested by this tenant served the common area and was not mentioned in her lease.

To make a long story short, my offer to reimburse her $20 per year for the light's electricity was rejected and I was forced to install a "House" PGE meter at a cost of $800 to serve this single light.

The irony is the light uses so little electricity that it doesn't even register on the meter and I'm stuck paying the $5 minimum electric charge each month.

By the way, the tenant moved several months later at the end of the lease.

No good deed goes unpunished...

[Tallysmom]

PG&E has to have access to your meter. That's how they read them. I think the day they close out your statement is the day they are read, so you can not work that day and wait for them to check and see.

As for your landlord knowing when your power was shut off -- PG&E yellow tags the meters for shut offs. Where I work, I have to check the meters before I waste my time changing out overhead lights -- if there's no power I could change out lights all day and they won't come on...

[RLangben]

That seems very suspect, especially the part where your landlord knew almost immediately when you power was off. I would take it up with project sentinel to see what you can do. I've lived in places where I was paying way to much for bills than I was using, it is very frustrating. Good luck with your situation.

[KRISTINsf]

It happened to me. I leased an apt and didn't move in til two months afterward yet still got the util bill from Pac Gas. It was around 40 a month and I wasn't even there. It took more than a dozen calls to get them to back off. It was an illegal apt, I discovered, from talking to the util co. They only had one meter and somehow the bill was directed to me not the other apt, who was a long time tenant.

After my lease was up and I moved out the landlord tried to hit me with the unpaid util bill. The nightmare began anew because I would be gone for months at a time and the bill still added up. Obviously they never fixed the problem because they said the landlord was responsible for setting up a new meter and all. It was a nightmare.