Apartment rentals and rules with utility billing???

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   moneyfairyposted 12 years ago

   I am just wondering if it is illegal for an apt. complex to charge exorbanant rates to tenants for water/sewer/trash and gas???
   This last months bill for water sewer and trash nearly doubled from last month and there were quite a few angry tenants. I called the water company and they said thier rates just went up 8% in jan. but nothing further since then and I called the gas company and they said there was no increase so I then called the billing company that sends out the water /sewer/trash bill and they said that our billing is divided up between all the units in the complex.... but if there are empty units we are responsible for them too , that just doesn't seem fair. Is this legal??

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   1. 60

      moneyfairyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I was just wondering if there was anyone who knows about tenant/ landlord billing issues?? Most places I've lived in the past we just paid the rent which included water/sewer/trash and the electric seperate and phne seperate and that's it. It just doesn't seem fair to charge existing tenants for units that aren't even occupied??

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      1. 76

         wildernessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         While I'm sure it depends on the rental contract you have, I think I'd be asking some questions.
         
         If no one is living there, seems like the landlord would be responsible for that portion of the bill for trash.
         
         If there is but one meter for the electric and gas, then the same thing should apply, particularly if the heat is turned on in those apartments to keep them from freezing.  If you are actually responsible contractually for the heating bill for empty apartments I'd want to make sure that everything is turned off - lights, heat, all water valves - everything.  If the landlord wants something turned back on without a tenant he can pay for it.
         
         All, of course, dependent on the contract, but I would suspect that a court would take a dim view of the landlord using power/gas for an empty apartment and then billing you for it.

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         1. 60

            moneyfairyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Thank you wilderness that's what I thought too. In 2009 when I moved into this complex it was only $495 for a one bedroom and $595 for a 2 bedroom then the old guy that owned the place died and the son hired a management company for a while then sold it and the new owners fixed it up and my rent went from $595 to $775 because the knew owners did new wood floors and marble counter tops then they stayed on for a few yrs. or so and sold it to the new owners now but before this Jan. we were never charged for water/sewer and trash and gas. This is the first time and all the new rents are over $800 but alot of rental places are going up from home forclosures it's just a slimy slimy business and because they know we don't have money to get a lawyer they try to get away with whatever they can. It just sucks being poor and having no voice and they don't give a sh*t. I will start looking around again before my lease expires in Dec. 2013. I just wish I had enough money to own my own place but I don't and I can't get a loan either because of my poor credit...it's a vicious circle. It just sucks being poor.

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