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Moved into an apartment at the beginning of December, basically taking over a previous renter's room. There was no lease, no security deposit, and rent covering all utilities. Essentially though my roommates (friends of mine) decide to move out and me not being in a position to find a single place on my own I decide to go with them. We notify the landlord almost a month prior to the move. The day we move out though he comes to us stating that the last month we stayed there we had an excessive electricity bill ($1,100...?!) and stated that we owed the difference between what the rent paid and the bill itself, and that the annual rate or something went up and there were other incurring charges on the bill as well. So, here's the issue...
- No lease
- No oral contract stated to me that if utilities exceeded the rent that it would be our responsibility to pay them. I actually have text messages attesting to this fact from the landlord himself stating that we didn't even have an oral contract...that he had seen where, 'I had just moved in', and took over for another individual in the apartment.
- I asked my roommates if he had said anything about having to pay excessive utilities before they moved in. They said no, that 'rent simply covered actually residing in the residence and utilities, that there was no stipulation to utilities.
- If the electricity bill was indeed high, it was because the apartment was almost unlivable without heaters. There is no heating system downstairs in the apartment and only small wall vents in our bedrooms. We used heaters that he provided just to make the place tolerable, yet downstairs you could literally see your breath in the living room and kitchen (example: our dish detergent actually froze in the kitchen). Beyond this, there would be no other reason for it to happen.
So I guess I'm just wondering if he has any ground to stand on. He's actually made threats. Not 6 hours after I got the statement saying we owed him the money, he was stating that 'if we didn't pay, we'd get ours'. In any case, I just don't want to have to deal with legalities. Do I have to be worried about paying this at all, or does he actually have a case?
He is the one who has to go to court and come up with all the proof...contract stating who is paying what and that excesive high utility bills need to paid....so far I don't hear anything than him trying to scare you to pay....
I wouldn't worry too much...it doesn't sound nice if a person is saying these things and would be smart to save all the txt and other proof you have and copy it onto a micro cruzer/stick just in case he is going to court in a couple of months...
Moved into an apartment at the beginning of December, basically taking over a previous renter's room. There was no lease, no security deposit, and rent covering all utilities. Essentially though my roommates (friends of mine) decide to move out and me not being in a position to find a single place on my own I decide to go with them. We notify the landlord almost a month prior to the move. The day we move out though he comes to us stating that the last month we stayed there we had an excessive electricity bill ($1,100...?!) and stated that we owed the difference between what the rent paid and the bill itself, and that the annual rate or something went up and there were other incurring charges on the bill as well. So, here's the issue...
- No lease
- No oral contract stated to me that if utilities exceeded the rent that it would be our responsibility to pay them. I actually have text messages attesting to this fact from the landlord himself stating that we didn't even have an oral contract...that he had seen where, 'I had just moved in', and took over for another individual in the apartment.
- I asked my roommates if he had said anything about having to pay excessive utilities before they moved in. They said no, that 'rent simply covered actually residing in the residence and utilities, that there was no stipulation to utilities.
- If the electricity bill was indeed high, it was because the apartment was almost unlivable without heaters. There is no heating system downstairs in the apartment and only small wall vents in our bedrooms. We used heaters that he provided just to make the place tolerable, yet downstairs you could literally see your breath in the living room and kitchen (example: our dish detergent actually froze in the kitchen). Beyond this, there would be no other reason for it to happen.
So I guess I'm just wondering if he has any ground to stand on. He's actually made threats. Not 6 hours after I got the statement saying we owed him the money, he was stating that 'if we didn't pay, we'd get ours'. In any case, I just don't want to have to deal with legalities. Do I have to be worried about paying this at all, or does he actually have a case?
No if the electricity bill is in his name and he agreed to pay it with no stipulations you don't owe him anything.
Sounds to me like the LL has an unexpected bill. There is no written contract except the one he signed for the electric services. He is stuck for the bill and his threats would indicate that he knows it.
BTW, my dish soap froze last night in the kitchen here at my farm house.
Talk to your phone company about getting print-outs of those text messages. If the LL decides to pursue legal action, you'll need a written record, you can't just show the judge your phone, and it may take long enough to go to court that your phone deletes them automatically.
Be sure especially to keep a record of the threats he makes. If it escalates you may need to request an order of protection to keep him from harassing you.
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