Landlord paying utiliy bills when tennant moves out?

Question

I am in a small dispute with my landlady and was wondering if anyone could help? My husband not long ago lost his job and whilst he got another, it meant we had to move from Seattle to Detroit. As you can imagine this put us it a bit of financial difficulty. Whilst we were always up to date on our rent, we did fall slightly behind with our utilities. We have called the utility company and set up a payment plan which they are happy with but my ex landlady is refusing to return our security deposit claiming that she wants to settle the utility bills with it. Can anyone tell me what her/my legal position is with this? We really need the security deposit back in order to put down on a new (and cheaper) house as all the time we are in temporary accomodation and our belongings are in stroage, we are just incurring further expense. Any advice or legal websites i can quote would be greatle appreciated. Thank you :)

Answer 1

If your landlady paid any bills on your behalf and has receipts to prove it, she can hold any portion of your deposit in order to cover those costs.  

If you were paying some utilities directly to the utility company and paying some as partial payments through her, she has to prove the amount she paid on your behalf, but has up to 30 days to send you an itemized list of charges taken from your deposit.

Answer 2

Assuming that your old landlady is in Seattle?  The state (and sometimes county & city) makes a major difference in what rights you have.

You can look for landlord-tenant info for Washington State here:

http://www.wsba.org/media/publications/p...

There's specific info there about a time limit - Did she give you a written explanation of why she was witholding the deposit within 14 days of you moving out?  If she didn't, she's probably going to lose if you go to court.

Since you're now out of state, she may be counting on you not wanting to file in court...but you can file a complaint with the Washington Attorney General's office here:

http://www.atg.wa.gov/LandlordTenant/def...

From what I see there, the AG's office may not do a thing...but filing the complaint may get your landlady to act.

Answer 3

It all hinges on 1 thing.  Some utility companies will not allow the next tenant to order service until the previous account is settled.  If that is true, she wins.  Since you worked out a payment agreement, you need to call the utility and ask if the next tenant can order service.  If they can, the landlord has not been harmed.  She would lose in court.  The loss in court would cost her triple damages. Courts don't like for tenants to lose their deposits.  In the law, deposits are deemed refundable unless clearly accepted that they are nonrefundable by both parties.  Go get your money.  Judge Judy will pay you $15,000 to appear on her show.  You will win.

Answer 4

Hi Rozene,

In my book you were not responsible for taking care of business in the first place! Before moving to another location you should had ordered final reads and had the utilities shut off before your departure.

Should we blame the landlady for her actions?

Here's my question to you...Is it worth spending a dollar to save a nickel?

In my eyes it's cheaper to settle the dispute quickly and move on with your life.

Learn to be responsible for your actions!

John Lopez

Answer 5

Where I live the landlord has 45 days from the move out date to either return the deposit or provide a list of charges (or both).  Not sure about seattle but try checking your state website for this info.  If she uses the deposit to settle the utility bills this may not be a big deal (you would've had to pay for those anyhow) but she should still give you an exact listing of where the deposit went and for how much.  

Also, you can check the county/city website for the specific regulation on this - it'll probably be on there somewhere.

Answer 6

I do not know about Washington, but in CA the new tenant can not get utilities until the previous bill was paid.   This is to prevent fraud from people against the companies, just changing the names on the billing.

I pay the utility bills here and deduct it from the deposit, otherwise my new renter is not able to obtain services.

Answer 7

The Landlord is required to provide you with written notice on what charges are being withheld from your security deposit within 14 days of your moving out.  Failure by the landlord is subject to double the amount.  

As a landlord myself, I do not risk this by communication anything verbally.  You can be cordial by making a written demand of the security deposit citing that you have already communicated with the utility and that you and the utility have already reached an agreement that will not affect the viability of the landlord to establish a new account.  Make it a certified letter.  If the 14 days have already expired, you might consider advising them that they are already in violation of the RCW and they are subject to double the deposit.  I would clearly state that if you do not hear from them within 48 hours of the confirmation receipt, you will be filing a suit in small claims court for double.

Answer 8

If your electricity or gas is in your name, your landlord has no business saying anything about it.  

If the bill is in her name then yes, she can hold your security deposit and is not required to give it back to you.  After all, she would be responsible for paying the bill.