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My tenants electric bill (they pay for electricity) got higher within 2 months, from $250 to $600 and $800 for November, December and January. They called NSTAR and got a response that 1) one of the units in the building might be connected to theirs, 2)there's a faulty outlet they could be using 3)a major appliance is on its way out. They had an issue with washer/dryer (a leak) that happened after they received $800 bill. Next day we went to see what is wrong with machine. We told them we will check with electrician if he can repair it. Then we found a good deal and decided to replace it instead of repairing and deliver it next day. After agreeing on delivery they changed their mind and asked me if we replacing a machine instead of repairing because it might be the fault appliance that got their bill higher and asked me to postpone delivery because they want keep the old machine to investigate if it was the cause their electric bill got higher and if it is so they want me to pay a part or their bill. I suggested they get a current energy audit which they scheduled in a few days. They also want me to hire electrician to check for faulty outlets and possibly connected units.
What are my legal rights? Do I have to get electrician? Who should pay for his service? Do I have to pay a part of their electric bill if machine or faulty outlet was the cause of their bill getting higher? What part of bill? I do not know what they did with washer/dryer (overheated, overloaded, overused it), its broken I'm willing to replace it. And I also know that last year the previous tenants payed in a winter about the same.
My tenants electric bill (they pay for electricity) got higher within 2 months, from $250 to $600 and $800 for November, December and January. They called NSTAR and got a response that 1) one of the units in the building might be connected to theirs, 2)there's a faulty outlet they could be using 3)a major appliance is on its way out. They had an issue with washer/dryer (a leak) that happened after they received $800 bill. Next day we went to see what is wrong with machine. We told them we will check with electrician if he can repair it. Then we found a good deal and decided to replace it instead of repairing and deliver it next day. After agreeing on delivery they changed their mind and asked me if we replacing a machine instead of repairing because it might be the fault appliance that got their bill higher and asked me to postpone delivery because they want keep the old machine to investigate if it was the cause their electric bill got higher and if it is so they want me to pay a part or their bill. I suggested they get a current energy audit which they scheduled in a few days. They also want me to hire electrician to check for faulty outlets and possibly connected units.
What are my legal rights? Do I have to get electrician? Who should pay for his service? Do I have to pay a part of their electric bill if machine or faulty outlet was the cause of their bill getting higher? What part of bill? I do not know what they did with washer/dryer (overheated, overloaded, overused it), its broken I'm willing to replace it. And I also know that last year the previous tenants payed in a winter about the same.
Thanks.
You need to have a NSTAR rep come out and do a test
That jump in the electric bill doesn't sound unreasonable to me. I don't even heat with electricity but my bill still jumps from around $60 in the fall to $200+ in the winter. Why don't you replace the washer/dryer and see if the bill is still $800 in February?
If the OP is a MA landlord with his rental building being also in MA, then why not? This is a question about possible tenant rights. There have been other threads here about landlord/tenant disputes.
I disagree. Like "my car battery is dead" "a snow plow scraped my car" and other garbage, I think it detracts from the true purpose of the forum. Some people seemingly can't do research and make simple life decisions without posting their stupid questions to this forum. But I'll leave it to the moderator to decide.
Last edited by scoobydew; 02-04-2015 at 05:30 AM..
I disagree. Like "my car battery is dead" "a snow plow scraped my car" and other garbage, I think it detracts from the true purpose of the forum. Some people seemingly can't do research and make simple life decisions without posting their stupid questions to this forum. But I'll leave it to the moderator to decide.
I thought it was for people to ask questions and discuss topics relevant to Massachusetts. Landlord-tenant relationships in Massachusetts certainly seem appropriate. Not every topic needs to be "what affordable town with great schools should I pick?"
This is at least a somewhat open-ended question and it doesn't violate the TOS. You're always welcome to ignore topics that aren't interesting to you.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scoobydew
I disagree. Like "my car battery is dead" "a snow plow scraped my car" and other garbage, I think it detracts from the true purpose of the forum. Some people seemingly can't do research and make simple life decisions without posting their stupid questions to this forum. But I'll leave it to the moderator to decide.
I like the idea of an energy audit to see what the cause is. That way an impartial expert would be making the call, not just someone making a guess. If NSTAR is the company, they could do the audit, as someone already suggested.
I'm not the mod for this forum but I don't think it's a stupid question. The OP lives in Mass. and anyway the threads about what town with great schools and a vibrant downtown get sort of boring to some of us. It's nice to have some variety and it's Mass related.
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