Landlord holding electricity bills? Legal?

I just had to get some advice on this matter (I am also calling into the citizens information office tomorrow as it just doesnt seem right.

Myself and two of my friends moved into a house in september (renting) for college. A month into living in the house with no problems, our landlord rings demanding we change the Bord Gáis electricty account into our names, as having lived away from home for three years, renting every year for college, I just thought this was kinda strange, also for the fact that there is a €200 (deposit) charge in order to change the names over.

I also thought it strange that,
- she told us that, although the account was in her name, she had no control over changing the name , - that we had to do it.
- so how we were going to get the deposit back?

- And now, she is actually holding the bill on us (we should have gotten two by now) so we havent seen an electricity bill at all.
She will give us the bills when we change the names over.

Is this right? Legal?

Thanks for any comments.

quietsailor

A month into living in the house with no problems, our landlord rings demanding we change the Bord Gáis electricty account into our names, as having lived away from home for three years, renting every year for college, I just thought this was kinda strange, also for the fact that there is a €200 (deposit) charge in order to change the names over.

Your going to take offense at this (probably) but there is no way I can write it any other way - I'm afraid your in general wrong here. Changing names on the bills is the norm in rented property, in fact I'd be suspicious of a LL who doesn't ask for to change the names.

Anyway, back on topic, any house I've rented in Cork over the last 6yrs (professional houses) plus my own house which I rent out to atudents the tenants have to change over the utilities - Gas and ESB to their own names. Did ye take a meter reading when you moved in? Be very careful of this, ye don't want to be paying for utilities used before you moved, the reverse is possible, that the landlord pays some of your bills but i doubt that would happen . If you didn't take a meter reading take them now, get the LL to give you s copy of a the bills and try and see if you can figure out what the readings were when you moved in. On the bills where the readings are shown E= Estimate, C=Cutomer (where you called in a reading) and anything else means the meter man/woman from the company actually read the meter.

I also thought it strange that,
- she told us that, although the account was in her name, she had no control over changing the name , - that we had to do it.
Again this is normal, all any account holder can do is close their account, its up to the new tenants to get in gear and apply for an account. WARNING. She's entitled to close her account - she's not living there any more so why should the bills be in her name. She can ring the ESB/Bord Gais at any time and close those accounts so get cracking on this, if you let it go and try to use the utilities without setting up an account after she closes hers they will cut you off and demand upwards of 100 euro before they reconnect it -- and you still have to pay the deposit

- so how we were going to get the deposit back?
You'll need to check with the utility providers for this but AFAIK its either;
a) there are different deposit amounts for paying by cash or paying by Direct Debit (DD), maybe paying by DD means no deposit is required.
b) After a set period (eg 6 months) the deposit is credited to your account if you pay up on time each time
c) When you close your account and after any final bills/outstanding bills are paid you'll be reurned the deposit

- And now, she is actually holding the bill on us (we should have gotten two by now) so we havent seen an electricity bill at all.
She will give us the bills when we change the names over.
Is this right? Legal?[/QUOTE]

I'm not sure about this, I can't see why she'd do it as you need the info on the bills to set up an account in your name
1. The address as it appears on the bill
2. the meter number - thats specific to the house, the account number is specific to a person so there can be several accounts for the same house over a period of a few years as tenants move on

3DataModem

Deleted User wrote: »

I just had to get some advice on this matter (I am also calling into the citizens information office tomorrow as it just doesnt seem right.

Myself and two of my friends moved into a house in september (renting) for college. A month into living in the house with no problems, our landlord rings demanding we change the Bord Gáis electricty account into our names, as having lived away from home for three years, renting every year for college, I just thought this was kinda strange, also for the fact that there is a €200 (deposit) charge in order to change the names over.

I also thought it strange that,
- she told us that, although the account was in her name, she had no control over changing the name , - that we had to do it.
- so how we were going to get the deposit back?

- And now, she is actually holding the bill on us (we should have gotten two by now) so we havent seen an electricity bill at all.
She will give us the bills when we change the names over.

Is this right? Legal?

Thanks for any comments.

The Landlord is right.
Bord Gais are right.
It is legal.
You are wrong.

Yes you are only one who can put it in your name, you can do this over phone. Usually you only need a meter reading to do it. They'll send you paperwork. It is normal to insist on deposit... you get it back after six or twelve months. The bills so far are not yours, so you have no right to insist on copies... it is none of your business. I presume you got a reading when you moved in, right? Give them the reading and they'll send landlord a final bill and you a first bill.

Thanks everyone.

Ive just nevwe had to change the name of the bill over before, its always came to the house in which I rented, in the name of the home owner.

But thank you guys.
Much appreciated.

astrofool

Make sure the bill is sent to you, not the landlord, also, you should be able to log in online to view the bills.

Jumpy

If the bills are not in your name there is no way you should be seeing them.

They can be used for all sorts of carry on. My old bills are always shredded after taking a scan.

pooch90

If he's expected to pay them then he's entitled to see them! Not keep them but at least have proof of the charges that are being transferred onto him