Help - Renter do not pay bills on time
Hi, we had a new renter move in May 2022, they did not change the bills to their names for few months at the beginning, after many calls and text messages they finally took the water and electricity bills to their names. they paid us back for the bills we already paid. but the problems still continue as they don't pay their water bill now, we just got a letter from the water company that they are 3 month due (ever since they change the name)
The water bill now on their name but it is attached to the address so if they accumulate charges the city may place a lien on the property.
How can I resolve that? should I pay it myself and try to get the money from them?
Thank you for the advise!
@Ray Os, for any utility provided by a government entity, I keep the bill in my name for exactly the reason you cited because if unpaid it can become a lien on the property.
If the bill is a flat fee like municipal garbage often is, then I just bake it into the rent.
If the bill is based on usage, I would bill the tenant back each month. Most of my tenants pay through apartments.com and its easy to bill them back online using that. My lease states that any bills or fees are payable BEFORE rent. So, if they don't pay both the rent and any due bills/fees the next month they will be delinquent on rent (because its paid LAST) and then I can evict for unpaid rent which is straight forward.
Quote from @Ray Os:
Give them written notice that they are in violation of the lease. Set a deadline of five business days to pay the bill in full and establish their own account or you will shut the utility off. If they don't pay, you shut the utility off. They will either find a way to turn it back on or they will move out and then you can deal with it.
P.S. you may hear it's illegal for a Landlord to shut off utilities. That's true. Some Landlords will shut off utilities as a means of evicting the tenant, just like changing locks or removing the front door. That's definitely illegal. And the law also says the Landlord has to provide basic utilities, but that means you have to make them available; it doesn't mean you have to continue paying for them when the Tenant agreed to take responsibility. In this case, your position is that the Tenant is responsible for the utility and you're just taking it out of your name, forcing them to take responsibility for it. I don't know if it would stand up in your court system, but it's unlikely the tenant would ever try to sue over this.
