Need a little advice on if my landlord is liable for Utilities (apartment, lease)

[crimsonsloth]

So heres my situation.

-I live in Illinois
-Advertised was free utilities for an apartment.
-The landlord was paying for utilities until 3 months before the end of my lease
-This was due to him switching from a master meter to tenant paid meter
-It does not say in my lease that he is responsible for the utilities but attached to the lease it does say that the landlord does pay for all utilities

Does him paying for the first 7 months of the electric before sub metering
imply that he is responsible for pay the utilities and is he going against the Illinois rental utility act in which states?


[SIZE=2]b) No landlord shall request or cause to be effected a change (i) from landlord‑paid master metered utilities to tenant‑paid individually metered utilities or (ii) from landlord‑paid to tenant‑paid utilities, regardless of the metering arrangement, during the term of a lease. The landlord shall provide a minimum of 30 days notice to each affected tenant before effecting such a change in service; for tenants under a lease, the notice shall be provided to the tenants no less than 30 days before the expiration of the lease term. This subsection does not prohibit the landlord and tenant from agreeing to amend the lease to effect such a change; the amendment must be in writing and subscribed by both parties.[/SIZE]

[Houston3]

"The landlord shall provide a minimum of 30 days notice to each affected tenant before effecting such a change in service; for tenants under a lease, the notice shall be provided to the tenants no less than 30 days before the expiration of the lease term."

It looks like you have until the end of your lease... If you don't have a lease then you only have 30 days..

But.......I would think if you were to pay your own utilities your rent should go down...

[wcnwzrd]

from what i am reading the landlord would be responcible until the end of your lease unless both you and him agree to change the lease in writing. if you would site the source for the legal you posted it would be easier to tell for sure. he did meet the no less than 30 day clause due to you saying you have 3 month prior to it ending so you would be responsible if you decide to continue residing there after your lease is up. As for the switch itself, the first part seems to say that he needs to wait until your lease is up and notify you prior to doing so.

[NY Annie]

Yup, I read it the same as wcnwzrd - landlord must continue to pay until the end of the lease and must provide 30 days' notice that there will be a change "at the end of the lease" - so you have the option of negotiating for a lower rent for a new lease.

Note that the landlord cannot put the meter into your name with the electric company - only you can accept responsibility for that.

[crimsonsloth]

Thanks for all the advice, sorry my utilities have been out and I had finals for college... I ended up filing a lawsuit against him...

heres the law in illinois that I found

765*ILCS*735/**Rental Property Utility Service Act.

the only problem is he is claiming he isn't responsible for utilities because it states no where specifically that he has to pay it accept in an addendum that states i have to pay 40 bucks a month for an air conditioner because he pays all utilities... yet it states no where I have to pay it.

after filing the lawsuit the new manager has been in my apt twice without permission... once was recently, I sort of set a trap which involved spilling bleach on a towel to show someone has been in there without my permission.... So on a wenesday the manager was saying there was a massive leak and had to get into my apt(which he did not text me the first time he entered... yet felt it necessary this time to which seems rather suspicious... I mean I'm not a genius but I do have a 3.8 in my major and feel like they are treating me like an idiot) i didn't think it was acceptable for him to go in as I did not give him my permission and he said the leak could have been going on for months(he noticed it in the apt below, which is empty because the ex manager was evicted less than a month ago and is now in rehab) so if it was going on for months why would it be an emergency? I only live 1:30 min away and would have driven down to let him in yet he sent a text and did not wait for my response.

sorry this situation is just ridiculous any more thoughts on my situation would be great... he also is trying to tell one of the other tenants they are under investigation for a mysterious mcdonalds bag of pot(which I think the ex manager was trying to set us up), which I was blamed for at first even though I was in another city and didn't hear about it until I came back after the weekend. I was then told by other tenants that they were told I had been arrested for smoking a "big bowl" and that the bag was right infront of my door... later I found that the landlord was telling another tenant that she was under investigation and he could double her rent if found guilty and she was also told by a cop that it was found between her apt and another(and I live on the other side of the building)... something seems really fishy about all of this as well.

[manderly6]

How much time left on your lease? If i were you I would be trying to get out of there ASAP.

[crimsonsloth]

I already left as it's uninhabitable my lease is up in june but I prepaid all of it... I paid a full year in advance and a 2 extra months because the ex manager said that the utilities would be honored so im sueing for the 4 months(2 on the lease and 2 extra from prepaying which i have reciepts from yet the landlord claims no record) and also for items stolen by the landlord's ex manager(she stole alot of stuff from everyone and one item was even returned to someone by her boyfriend but all the other tenants are just cutting their losses and leaving) and services that were not able to be utilized while my electricity was out.

[bentlebee]

Prepare all you your proof and see him in court...if you have proof of all you are stating and he can't show in court that he gave notice that the utilities were going to be paid by you (which I doubt he can)...you will win and get your rent back for the months you couldn't live there.

He could try to change the lease during the time frame but as long as you didn't approve of anything he has no right to change the contract.