Landlord says this is my bill to pay?? Photo attached

Ignore him. Let him waste time arguing with the water company
It's in his name so he's liable.

He obviously can't read and/or is a bit dim. Offer him £20 to cover the period of that bill that you were there and tell him to swivel for the rest of it.

There's nothing he can do. If he withholds your bond, report him to the ombudsman. If he tries to use that bill as his reason, they will laugh at him.

@LJM29 are you with Severn Trent? It looks familiar to my bills. They send you the amount for the year ahead, whether a prediction for a meter or the exact amount if you sre on rates. There would have been the same for 23/24 and you would have paid it during the year.

Your landlord can speak with the water company and they will explain it to him. If you contacted the water company with the date you left it is it likely they have already billed you and you have paid for that anyway, if it was 2 weeks into the new billing year for example.

So what date did you tell the water company you were no longer responsible. It should have been April 17th as that's when your tenancy ended. Did you tell them 31 March? Offer 25 quid for your share of April.

There's some real chancers out there...makes you wonder how many people would pay this sort of thing 😬

Not everyone has a water meter.

Does he realise that is is for the future, and not last year? If he does, then why does he think you'll pay for water to an address that you don't live in ?! He just needs to contact them.

This - did you not read the meters before moving out?

I got asked to pay the council tax of a property I never moved in to once.

I had been planning to move in but things fell through and I never did. I never once had access
to the property. Landlord sent me the council tax bill!

You need to discuss this with the water company first, not the landlord.

Ring the water company and explain the situation saying you want to double check you paid everything already to cover the period you were in that property. If there is a small payment left then settle that and ask them for confirmation that your account has been closed and settled.

Then get back to the landlord explaining what you have done and that any bill since your leaving date is his responsibility until he finds new tenants. Then stop corresponding with him.

End of story.

I had a landlord like this 🤣 tried charging me the year ahead council tax bill. Explained to him I wasn't going to be paying council tax for a property I don't live in anymore and that it's the next tenants job to pay it. He wasn't happy and tried to lie about why it's mine until he gave up when he realised he couldn't spin it

He’s not read it properly and thinks it’s 2023/24

Yep him you are liable for 17 days in April, but he needs to cover the rest based on when you moved out. He probably misread the dates. I would have the water company resend as 2 bills, she pay them over the phone at the time, because that gives you evidence of payment to send with your message.

He's an idiot and had read the bill incorrectly!

That's not your bill to pay. It's the estimate for the next 12 months in the same was as you are told in advance what your council tax bill will be for the year.

It's not on a meter. If it was it wouldn't be a fixed price for the year ahead.
So now the bill is in his name, as PP said, if empty he needs to call the water Co and tell them its vacant, but charges may still apply - hence why it's better to be on a meter.

Agree with PP who bas calculated that you owe £21 to cover the last few days of your tenancy.

If I were the landlord, I don't think I would bother collecting this amount.

Your ex-landlord is deluded. How on earth can they think you are responsible for bills after the tenancy agreement has ended!?

Actually if the property is empty the LL has to pay. Most water companies charge a standing charge regardless of if anyone is living there. I'm a LL and I've had to pay for 2 months while empty because I was waiting for a painter and carpet fitter to be available before new tenants moved in.

He clearly can't read and doesn't understand that you are not responsible for the water bill for a property you no longer live in.

You don't owe this money.

'Dear landlord - the bill clearly shows this is for 1st April 24 to 31 March 25, I vacated the property before this period and am not legally expected to pay bills on a property I already left. Please don't contact on this issue again asking for money'

Then ignore

Yeah to echo others. This is next year's bill. And as you'd moved out before April there would be no way I'd even offer 20 quid

This bill is for the year ahead and you don't actually live there. The bill is in his name, it's his property and it's dated for the year ahead. Tell him that he is welcome to take the matter to the county court if he feels he is able to provide sufficient evidence of liability.

Circle the dates for the invoicing period and send back to him saying you are not paying a bill for a period in which you are not a tenant. Spell out the bill is for April 24 to March 25 and is not your responsibility. At best divide the total by 365 days and pay for the number of days you were there in April. Apart from that, not your problem.

Have you pointed out to him that it is the bill for the next twelve months, in the future, for water that no one has used yet?

Being charitable, he's maybe misread it and thinks it's to March 2024? Otherwise he's a complete dipstick, it's his house, it's empty, of course he's going to have bills!

Is it on a meter? If it is, he won't have to pay for water because he's not using any. If not, maybe he should look into it to save himself some money, otherwise he'll have to pay the water rates even if he uses nothing.

Eta - I assumes when you said you gave the move out date to the water Co, that it was the date the tenancy ended, if that's not right you do need to pay the actual cost of the water used between moving out and tenancy ending (if on a meter, and hopefully 0) or the water rated for that small interim period.