Renting/Bill Problem

Pork U Pine

Hi all,

My girlfriend is having trouble with her roommates and landlords in regard rent. She won't be living in the house for 6 weeks from 2 weeks time. She has agreed to pay the rent but does not feel like she should contribute to the bills (electricity etc) while she is away. The other roommate says she can't afford the rent and the landlord wants them to solve it between them.

However today the landlord confronted my girlfriend and told her she'll have to pay and told her she was the reason another roommate moved out(long story). She is now thinking of moving out and losing 2 weeks rent which she had already paid for.

Im guessing Im just looking for some opinions and answers here. Does she have any rights. Thanks folk :-)

Pork U Pine

Anybody know anything about this? Your help would be greatly appreciated. Apologies if I posted this in the wrong forum.

scotty_irish

she may have a case for not contributing to electricity and other such usage based bills, but things like internet/tv still cost the same whether or not people are there or not. Then again, the house still needs the same amount of heating, I'd just pay, keep the peace and compared to rent, bills ain't much.

the_syco

Pork U Pine wrote: »

She won't be living in the house for 6 weeks from 2 weeks time.

I don't understand this bit. If she doesn't stay in the house all the time, where does she stay when she's not?

Penny Dreadful

If your girlfriend owned a house or rented on her own and she went away for 6 weeks the gas and esb bills would still be there waiting for her when she came back. The providers of the bills don't care whether you're there or not, they just expect their money.

ronan45

Mate If you go on holidays for 2 weeks it doesnt mean you dont pay for 2 weeks of heating UPC and Electricity in a share.

awec

She should pay.

Jerri Jordan

your girlfriend should pay the bills. If she owned a house she would still have to pay her bills if she went away for 6 weeks. I am renting too and i still pay my bills if i am away which often happens.

Snakeblood

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

If your girlfriend owned a house or rented on her own and she went away for 6 weeks the gas and esb bills would still be there waiting for her when she came back. The providers of the bills don't care whether you're there or not, they just expect their money.

Yeah, but she could turn off the electricity and heating in her absence, which she would do if she were living alone. As she isn't, it's the other person consuming the energy.

She should probably pay the bill for a quiet life, as long as it's not unreasonable.

Ray Palmer

She pays as the bills were agreed to be split. There are standing charges anyway. It's just the way it is. Shared running of the house whether she is there or not.

Penny Dreadful

Snakeblood wrote: »

Yeah, but she could turn off the electricity and heating in her absence, which she would do if she were living alone. As she isn't, it's the other person consuming the energy.

She should probably pay the bill for a quiet life, as long as it's not unreasonable.

You still get billed for the provision of the service.
I head to my parents house for Christmas, leave the morning of the 24th and don't return until January. The heat is off and other than the freezer and fridge there is no electricity used...........ESB and Bord Gais still bill for these days later in January.

I don't think its just a case of paying the bill for a quiet life, its the right thing to do.

Pork U Pine

Thanks for the replies. The plan is to pay the bills to keep the house somewhat peaceful and move out when she returns. The speedy replies were very helpful so thanks again folks.

Snakeblood

Penny Dreadful wrote: »

You still get billed for the provision of the service.
I head to my parents house for Christmas, leave the morning of the 24th and don't return until January. The heat is off and other than the freezer and fridge there is no electricity used...........ESB and Bord Gais still bill for these days later in January.

I don't think its just a case of paying the bill for a quiet life, its the right thing to do.

Well, yeah, but in a perfect world, you'd separate the cost of keeping the service going from the energy consumed, billing for one but not the other. That's what I'd see as equitable, dunno how easy it would be to manage.

D3PO

Bills are shared. if your the same amount of time you spend less there has no relevence.

othersise where does it end. X has to pay more than Y becasue she takes 20 mins in the shower and Y only takes 10. Or X gets home form work at 5.30 pm and Y not till 7 pm etc etc.

your getting into stupid situations. Thats why bills are split end of story.

ronan45

Its like in my place 1 person puts the heat on at maximum temperature for hours on end as they are cold. I must open my window to let the heat out. Massive gas bills but nothing i can do!

Cheshire Cat

ronan45 wrote: »

Its like in my place 1 person puts the heat on at maximum temperature for hours on end as they are cold. I must open my window to let the heat out. Massive gas bills but nothing i can do!

Buy him/her a warm jumper - might be cheaper in the long run

Snakeblood

D3PO wrote: »

Bills are shared. if your the same amount of time you spend less there has no relevence.

othersise where does it end. X has to pay more than Y becasue she takes 20 mins in the shower and Y only takes 10. Or X gets home form work at 5.30 pm and Y not till 7 pm etc etc.

your getting into stupid situations. Thats why bills are split end of story.

No, I think you're getting into stupid situations. If someone is out for six weeks, completely, that's different from spending a couple of extra hours less but still being there consistently on a daily basis. For me, over a month of absence is long enough to warrant some discussion of going easier on bills for the period of absence.