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Charge them for it - every time you get a bill. Put it in the lease.
Why would you want all utilities in your name?
Why make life harder for yourself?
I am speculating the owner doesn't want to change utilities for one of the following reasons:
1. because s/he has a mortgage that forbids renting the house out and doesn't want any highly visible evidence of this Landlord venture.
2. or, is considering leasing to deadbeat applicants who can't get utilities in their names because of unpaid prior accounts.....and this nascent landlord is being seduced by offers of above market rent by applicants who can't get a savvy landlord to lease to them.
I have some friends who are former landlords. They always seemed to lease to tenants willing to pay very high rents (greedy landlord!) and sob stories (appealed to their "benevolent" self-image). As far as I can recall, they were stung every time with sneak-out or destructive tenants.
I have had some inquires from tenants regarding utilities, that's why I'm asking here to make sure that things go well if utilities are in landlord's name.
Tenants always ask if utilities are included, or if they can stay in the landlords name, when they know they have bad credit and may have stiffed the utitlity before, and in general they don't want to actually pay for them.
Simply telling them they are responsible for their own utilities screens out a ton of risky applicants.
Tenants always ask if utilities are included, or if they can stay in the landlords name, when they know they have bad credit and may have stiffed the utitlity before, and in general they don't want to actually pay for them.
Simply telling them they are responsible for their own utilities screens out a ton of risky applicants.
If tenant does not pay the bills although they have signed the lease that they are responsible for their own utilities, what would be the best and most effective way to go?
If tenant does not pay the bills although they have signed the lease that they are responsible
for their own utilities, what would be the best and most effective way to go?
Are you being deliberately obtuse?
Every comment has been telling you to not even consider going down that path.
If you insist on doing so... you deserve to learn the lessons for yourself.
Are you being deliberately obtuse?
Every comment has been telling you to not even consider going down that path.
If you insist on doing so... you deserve to learn the lessons for yourself.
I know that everyone advise against it doing so, but remember that there are also lots of landlord's with utilities in their name. I just want to know what landlords are allowed to do by law. Just in case!! Shut off service or not?
I know that everyone advise against it doing so, but remember that there are also lots of landlord's with utilities in their name. I just want to know what landlords are allowed to do by law. Just in case!! Shut off service or not?
There are. But I don't believe that a LL can legally shut utilities off to a rental property or unit b/c tenant is not paying the LL. You'd have to evict and then go after tenants in small claims for any amount exceeding the security deposit.
All my units have separate gas & electric. The tenants put that bill in their name.
The water/sewer has to stay in the homeowner's name.
I don't have separate water meters for the individual units, so that bill is divided up by the number of tenants in the building every quarter. I pay the quarterly bill, then charge the tenants. I just ask them to include it in their next months rent. If they don't pay it, it comes it out of their security at the end of the year. The last month of the lease I have the water meter read on the day they move out and that always gets deducted from security b/c they're done paying rent.
If tenant does not pay the bills although they have signed the lease that they are responsible for their own utilities, what would be the best and most effective way to go?
The best way to go is to not allow them to move in UNTIL they have moved the utilities into THEIR names. And given you proof of having done so, though you can also check by calling the utility and asking if its still in your name or in theirs.
Rent it to include utilities and price it accordingly.
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