Landlord and utility bills

[HettyBettyConfetti]

My ds rents a basement flat and has done for the last 5 months.
His landlord has never informed my ds of who the water and gas companies that supply the property although he has been messaging the landlord and asking him.

The bills go to the tenants above and I think the meters are not separate so my ds cannot see an itemised bill of what he has used.

The landlord is now saying he wants the money for gas and water back dated and told my son how much he has to pay but my son has no way in checking if it's correct.

I'm not sure what to advise him to do.

You tell your son to ask for an itemised bill for his flat only from the supplier.
Landlord is at fault if he has two properties on one supply, surely?

@JetBlackSteed

You tell your son to ask for an itemised bill for his flat only from the supplier. Landlord is at fault if he has two properties on one supply, surely?

Thank you for your reply. I have advised him to ask landlord for an itemised bill and to not pay anything until he see it.

I had this. It was in my lease I had to pay 1/3 - also the upstairs tenants got the bill

I asked for copies of the bill. Glad I did because they were quarterly and I was not there for the first quarter.

Eventually the gas pipes were being relaid on the road. They cane in to see each gas meter and saw we had shared, but it was located in my areas. Thy said this was illegal and we had to have separate meters.

This lead to electricity and water too.

@ILoveYoga

I had this. It was in my lease I had to pay 1/3 - also the upstairs tenants got the bill

I asked for copies of the bill. Glad I did because they were quarterly and I was not there for the first quarter.

Eventually the gas pipes were being relaid on the road. They cane in to see each gas meter and saw we had shared, but it was located in my areas. Thy said this was illegal and we had to have separate meters.

This lead to electricity and water too.

Thank you for your help

Is it actually separate flats or beds it’s in what is essentially a house share?

It is usual for tenants to take responsibility for utilities and council tax and have them in their own names and be billed directly, when there are individual flats. Landlords normally want nothing to do with these bills. It makes me wonder if they are really separate properties, especially if there is only one supply/meter.

And if there is only 1 meter, how could you have an itemised bill anyway which distinguished betweeen different usages?

Your son doesn’t need to know who the previous tenant used for electricity and has no right to access their account. They should have cancelled their contract when moving out and that’s nothing to do with your son.

He just needs to choose a utilities provider himself and set himself up from the date he moved in. He should have contacted the council to set up council tax too. He can just google who provides water as there will only be one company covering his area.

However, it does sound like a house share and not legally separate flats in which case, he should refer to the contract to see what that says re his share of bills.

Either the flat needs a separate supply, or the LL needs to get a sub meter installed for each service that is metered - including water if that's on a meter.

Honestly this LL sounds dodgy, if he's willing to cut corners here, what else will he do. For example is the wiring safe, is the gas certified renewed annually? Is the place generally in good condition? Is the tenancy legal & the terms reasonable?

@WombatChocolate it's a separate flat. Has its on front door.
I know he has received a council tax bill and has been paying it, it's just the other things like water electricity and gas.

@JoJoSM2
I'm going to look a bit deeper into this and I'm going to get him to send me a copy of the contract.
He is paying council tax.
I have found his water supplier and I will get him to call them.
It's all seems a bit dodgy to me though

He needs to get advice this is a useful summary of rights and responsibilities . I suspect his landlord may ask him to leave though if he kicks up a fuss

@InFlagranteDerelicto
I complete agree with you. It's poorly maintained and I don't believe safe.
He is moving out and given his notice and is currently locking for alternative accommodation.

@Sooverthemill
Thank you for the link.
I will forward it to my son.

I agree about general dodgy ness. Sounds good he's looking for somewhere else. For future reference suggest that he gets copy of contract before agreeing anything