Is this legal to charge someone renting?

Question

Help. My rent is $800 per month. This includes ALL utilities. I have never ever paid my rent late. This month my landlord said the power bill was to high so he says I have to pay the power bill or he is gonna have the power cut off. I live in Georgia. Is this legal? What can I do? Thanks

Answer 1

I don't know about Georgia, but it's not legal in ND.  As long as you have a written contract stating what you stated here, I'd talk to a local attorney there.

Answer 2

Read your lease...if it says that he can, then you're pretty much screwed.  If it says that it is HIS responsibility, then you have some ground to stand on.  You should point it out to him specifically.

Answer 3

if you used the power then you should pay for it but if your sharing it then the other party has to pay for it to. hope i helped you any...

Answer 4

It's not legal for him to turn the power off.

As for charging you for power, here in California he'd have to give written notice of a change in terms of agreement.  I suggest you look around for tenant help groups - check with your local consumer affairs or legal aid office.

Answer 5

If you signed a lease that states your $800 per month rent includes all utilities, without any exceptions, then I don't see how he can do that.  If you have a legal contract he cannot turn the power off.  He may have clause in there that you have overlooked.  I would pull my lease, take a hard look at it and let him know you aren't paying it.  If he then turns the power off, he might find himself on Judge Judy.

Answer 6

He should be asking for extra only if you're now using an air conditioner.  There should've been a stipulation in the lease contract. If it's not in the lease, he can make an addendum but it has to be thirty days in advance before you begin to pay the extra for including air conditioning.

Answer 7

That sounds dodgy to me. Everywhere I have lived in Australia, you pay rent for the building. All utilities are in your name, and your responsibility to pay. If he said it covered all utilities, did you sign anything saying you had to pay if it was over a certain amount? I'm sure you have a local government department there that controls rental rights, you should find out.

Answer 8

He can't do this, electric is a basic thing and he can't just cut it off because he feels like it.  Tell him you are sorry the power bill was so high and you certainly want to help out any way you can.  However, things are tough for you too, so you've just decided that if he breaks the lease and stops paying the electric company, you will also break the lease and stop paying him his rent.

If he is dumb enough to really cut the electric off, you are probably going to need to just start looking for a new place to live - he has already broken the lease by doing this and you don't need this hassle.

Anyhow, to find out the exact procedure for breaking a lease with cause in your area, look in the blue pages for your municipality for something like "Landlord/ Tenant Affairs", and call them up and explain everything.  There is some procedure you must go thru, but do that and then you can leave the place (assuming he does in fact cut off the power).

Answer 9

If you have a lease stating that the Apartment is paying the Utilities, then no, they can not do that.

If you have no such lease, then yes, they can do that.

Answer 10

Your living in a house right? If so the landlord can change the rent to any amount they like because they are the owners are you have no power over it. They can even kick you out. If the change in  amount of money is a bit too high i would recommand moving to a new house or apportment  

Answer 11

When you signed the lease for your rental property did it have a clause in there saying" if the power bill was too high you must pay extra on top of the $800", if not then you can say to him that your paying $800 and in your lease it didn't say anything about if you over used the power you had to pay extra. You said the $800 includes your rent, and all the bills..right?? if that is the case then yeah he can't over charge you  and cut your power off. If you didn't sign a lease, (which is impossible) and it was a verbal agreement then I'm not sure what will happen in that case. Good luck, I would suggest you get some legal advice from legal aid?? and they can help you further.

Answer 12

Do you have a lease agreement? Does it state that utilities are included in the $800? If so, the bill is his responsibility. Speak with an attorney or call your local legal aid society and ask them. Good luck.

Answer 13

move out to another house dont take this c**p but before you leave use you imagination of how you can leave it

Answer 14

unlikely; just tell him you're gonna contact your lawyer (even if you don't have one) and also, you should look at the provisions of your lease to see what it says, if anything, regarding late bills.