Should I give my housemate money for ESB?

pulpfictionost

Two housemates, me john and anne. (fake names)
My housemates refused to pay esb for nine months, and I didnt want to pay anything if they were going to pay nothing. So ESB threatened to never supply anne with esb and send her to bad debtors list. So the ESB bill we now owe is 990 euro.

I owe 330, however the lease is in annes name only. Ive since found out she sub-letted to me and has spent my deposit money. The Landlord had no idea I was there. So if i pay my 330 esb, and she has no money how can she pay me my deposit back? I am moving out this weekend.

She has been at me and at me to get my ESB money, but Im trying to protect myself from losing my 300 euro she took from me and probably wont return.

I asked the landlord (house rental company) what I should do and they said there is nothing they can do. So I text anne and said I asked the gardai what I should do and they told me not to pay it. Anne text me back and said she was going down to the gardai to tell them her side of the story.

Im sure she hasnt a leg to stand on, im only protecting myself, who can i contact for advice on this? should i go to the gardai? Im going to give her the 30 euro in excess of the 300 she owes me for my 'deposit money' to cover the bill. And I think that is fair

PS. It was in her contract not to sub-let, I know this because anne never gave me a reciept for my deposit, so I went down to the Landlord and asked for it, he asked me who I was, had never heard of me. And told me that anne had sub letted to me. And now we are all moving out, but she must pay this ESB or she will be blacklisted

coffee_cake

Sounds like you just owe her 30 euro to me. Good idea getting word from the gardai

collegegal

In my opinion pulpfictionost, don't pay Anne the 300. I would agree with you in paying the outstanding amount for 30 quid, but thats as much as I would pay. You are totally right that she doesn't have a leg to stand on as you are not 'down' as living there there is nothing that can happen to you. The only thing is that if you are friends with Anne, you could lose your friendship over not paying her the money, but having said that, she's not much of a friend if she's pocketed your 300. So give her 30 quid to clear your debts and be on your merry way. You can't ponder on other people's bad decisions. You were all responsible for keeping up with the bill payments and no-one stepped up. So therefore all you owe is the 30 quid.

RATM

She hasnt really a leg to stand on if shes spent your deposit money. Tell her you will pay her the 330 ESB when she produces your 300 deposit. She appears to be an irresponsible kind of tenant what with sub-letting when she shouldnt and spending your deposit. Now she needs to find 990 pretty sharpish so she's putting the thumb on you to stump up before the deposit issue arises after you've moved out. Dont fall for it, I'd be very surprised if the Gardai get involved as you haven't broken any laws, so therefore its a civil case between you and her and 330 is not really worth going to the District Court for.

Throw her 30 quid OP and tell her she's lucky to be getting it :cool:

convert

The reason that tenants pay a deposit is so as to provide the landlord with an assurance that they will be able to cover any damages which the tenant(s) may cause to the property or to pay off any bills that the tenant has left. This is the reason why tenants should not use the deposit to pay off the last month's rent (even though some people assume that they are entitled to do this).

Am I correct in assuming that you have paid your last month's rent and that you are just waiting for 'Anne' to return your deposit? Although it's not the route I would favour, technically you could opt to use your deposit to pay off the outstanding bills for which you are liable. I think that the best idea would be to contact the PRTB and seek their advice. They will advise you for definite as to whether or not this method is ok or if it would leave you in a precarious position.

Btw, unless you actually went to the guards and sought their advice, it probably wasn't the best idea to tell your housemate that you did so. It could cause further problems for you.

pulpfictionost

convert wrote: »

The reason that tenants pay a deposit is so as to provide the landlord with an assurance that they will be able to cover any damages which the tenant(s) may cause to the property or to pay off any bills that the tenant has left. This is the reason why tenants should not use the deposit to pay off the last month's rent (even though some people assume that they are entitled to do this).

Am I correct in assuming that you have paid your last month's rent and that you are just waiting for 'Anne' to return your deposit? Although it's not the route I would favour, technically you could opt to use your deposit to pay off the outstanding bills for which you are liable. I think that the best idea would be to contact the PRTB and seek their advice. They will advise you for definite as to whether or not this method is ok or if it would leave you in a precarious position.

Btw, unless you actually went to the guards and sought their advice, it probably wasn't the best idea to tell your housemate that you did so. It could cause further problems for you.

I have paid my last months rent, john and anne are being evicted, because john smashed a glass table and ripped a leather couch to shreds, and anne is being evicted for unauthorized sub letting and continuous late rent.

I was never registered with the PRTB because nobody ever knew i was in the house, this is my first time renting and I was stupid and didnt know what i was doing. Anne told me she gave the money to the landlord and gave them my details, which was all lies

But thanks I will try asking the PRTB for some help

convert

Contact the PRTB before paying the €300 and see what they say. It's easy to pay it after you chat with them, if that's what they recommend; not so easy to get back the cash. Oh, and don't forget to tell them the whole story while you're discussing the situation with them!

Oh_Noes

pulpfictionost wrote: »

Two housemates, me john and anne. (fake names)
My housemates refused to pay esb for nine months, and I didnt want to pay anything if they were going to pay nothing. So ESB threatened to never supply anne with esb and send her to bad debtors list. So the ESB bill we now owe is 990 euro.

I owe 330, however the lease is in annes name only. Ive since found out she sub-letted to me and has spent my deposit money. The Landlord had no idea I was there. So if i pay my 330 esb, and she has no money how can she pay me my deposit back? I am moving out this weekend.

She has been at me and at me to get my ESB money, but Im trying to protect myself from losing my 300 euro she took from me and probably wont return.

I asked the landlord (house rental company) what I should do and they said there is nothing they can do. So I text anne and said I asked the gardai what I should do and they told me not to pay it. Anne text me back and said she was going down to the gardai to tell them her side of the story.

Im sure she hasnt a leg to stand on, im only protecting myself, who can i contact for advice on this? should i go to the gardai? Im going to give her the 30 euro in excess of the 300 she owes me for my 'deposit money' to cover the bill. And I think that is fair

PS. It was in her contract not to sub-let, I know this because anne never gave me a reciept for my deposit, so I went down to the Landlord and asked for it, he asked me who I was, had never heard of me. And told me that anne had sub letted to me. And now we are all moving out, but she must pay this ESB or she will be blacklisted

If she subletted to you without you knowing then you shouldn't pay her a cent. And take all you can from the situation. Sounds like she's using your inexperience as a renter to try to intimidate you.

Xiney

yeah, all you owe her is 30 euro...

although I'd be inclined to tell her to get stuffed since you have to move out due to her.

Max Power1

Xiney wrote: »

yeah, all you owe her is 30 euro...

although I'd be inclined to tell her to get stuffed since you have to move out due to her.

+1

Especially as you seem to have moved out now, the deposit would be offset against existing bills anyway (even if she had'nt spent it), so the way I see it she'd be lucky to get the 30 notes from ya.