Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to considering keeping tenant deposit due to massive hating bill?

75 replies

Cherrypie32 · 15/03/2018 18:51

Or have I just lucked out? We put tenants into our 1 bed flat that was for sale on a month by month contract that was an all rent to cover all bills. I based my sums on previous tenants use age of amnenities. The property is now sold and a final bill for electricity came in at £550. I have been paying £23.00 a month with Eon. If they have caned usesge over and above the norm can I reasonably ask them to pay (or keep the deposit I was about to return). Just looking for advice really.

OP posts:
ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 15/03/2018 19:32

That's good to know Gabs. It sounds like regulations have tightened up since my days of getting robbed by landlords renting. Wink

ILostItInTheEarlyNineties · 15/03/2018 19:36

I thought "Lucked Out" meant you've had some incredibly good luck. Eg I lucked out and got the last jumper in the sale.

Jimbobjovi · 15/03/2018 19:40

Stuff like this is why the Deposit protection law was so sorely needed.

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 15/03/2018 19:42

You did put the deposit into a scheme, didn’t you?

It’s just the way you are writing suggests you didn’t. And if you didn’t, you have broken the law again and the tenants can sue you for 3x the deposit.

This.

londonrach · 15/03/2018 19:50

No cant. It be illegal. If tenants took this further you could be in serious trouble. Bills included in rent! Yabu

lottiegarbanzo · 15/03/2018 19:52

'Lucked out' = experienced enormous good luck, yes.

DalekDalekDalek · 15/03/2018 19:54

I hope you registered as a landlord and put the deposit in a deposit protection scheme. You don't seemed to have been very clued up about being a landlord and have broken half a dozen laws as a result.

Kursk · 15/03/2018 20:01

I hope you registered as a landlord and put the deposit in a deposit protection scheme. You don't seemed to have been very clued up about being a landlord and have broken half a dozen laws as a result.

Does it matter if she didn’t, she is no longer a landlord, and the tenants left happy. Unfortunately OP got stung for the bill but otherwise no real crime has been committed

TenancyTroublesAgain · 15/03/2018 20:04

No you can't do that. That's a RIDICULOUSLY low electric bill to start off with! Confused

starzig · 15/03/2018 20:05

There is 2 of us and we are out at work all day. I get hot easy too and our leccy is about £55. (Similar for gas). So although we have a bigger house, £23 seems very low. Esp if someone feels the cold.

SlothMama · 15/03/2018 20:11

When I was student with inc bills my contract stipulated that if we went over by £100 we would be liable for any additional costs to the landlord. Did you have anything like that in your contract?

NotAllTimsWearCapes · 15/03/2018 20:15

How have you had a couple of different tenants in in the space of 5 months? You have to have a minimum 6 month lease initially before you can go to a month to month lease.

ReasonableLlama · 15/03/2018 20:19

Would you have refunded them if it turned out you were overpaying and got a refund?

KittenBeast · 15/03/2018 20:22

yabvu.

Treacletoots · 15/03/2018 20:22

Alright everyone. Calm the fuck down. The OP has clearly done a runner and let's be honest so would anyone after all the boots that have been thrown at her.

Yes she's clearly not a professional landlord and states this, and thankfully has seen sense to sell up. But really please stop with the generic landlord bashing. Some of us are actually decent human beings who DO comply with regulations, look after their tenants and return deposits if the property has been looked after. I can tell you stories of tenants who frankly behave like utter arseholes but for some reason... That's ok. Hmm.

Mawalls · 15/03/2018 20:27

In the age of bitcoin and winters we have been having youd be mental to include unlimited electricity

southeastdweller · 15/03/2018 20:29

Yes she's clearly not a professional landlord and states this
No, she didn't. But doesn't matter if she's a professional or an amateur, she had a legal obligation to comply with the R's and R's that come with being a landlord, which she clearly wasn't aware of. It doesn't matter that this may be the first time she's rented a flat.

Treacletoots · 15/03/2018 20:37

I don't disagree, she should have complied with them. 100% but please stop the generic landlord bashing. We aren't all bad.

NotAllTimsWearCapes · 15/03/2018 20:41

Where is the generic landlord bashing? All the posts are directed to the OP based on her specific situation. I don’t see anyone saying anything about landlords in general.

LemonSqueezy0 · 15/03/2018 20:47

AIBU is notoriously honest and frank so OP should've been prepared for that. That being said, I don't think anyone has been particularly harsh...

Renting a property with all bills included in the price, with no fair usage clauses is absolutely ludicrous to me! What incentive would they have to keep costs down?! I think you've been lucky actually...

Mummyoflittledragon · 15/03/2018 20:51

£133 a month is a massive amount to pay on electricity for a 1bed flat. I’m not surprised op queried it. It’s a lesson learnt on the contact front.

Sprogletsmuvva · 15/03/2018 20:59

you realise that you’ve broken the law? Every single tenacy begins with a six month fixed term...by law. You cannot just move someone in on a “month-by-month” basis.

Not quite. LL and tenant can agree anything they like—whether that’s a periodic tenancy from the outset, or a fixed term as long or short as they want.
However, for an assured shorthold, LL can’t validly serve notice to bring the tenancy to an end sooner than 6 months except under very limited grounds that the tenant must have been notified of before the start. (Or if the tenant had committed certain ‘bad tenant ‘ behaviours, eg significant rent arrears, grounds which are also the only permissible ones for seeking possession during a fixed term.)

BrendasUmbrella · 15/03/2018 21:00

They already agreed they were being U, about 40 posts ago...

PoisonousSmurf · 15/03/2018 21:01

Why not find out the true cost of heating? £23 a month is crazy low!

acquiesce · 15/03/2018 21:03

We are a family of 3 and our bills over winter were £180-£200 per month Shock
£110 a month is definitely not unreasonable!

New posts on this thread. Refresh page