Landlord want money for gas & electric bill ?

Question

well in nov,06 we started renting a house with CMHA ( like section 8) we went and signed a lease and all paper to move in . we contacted the landlord in nov,dec,jan that the gas & electric bill was still not in our name and we were no getting a bill. we contact the gas company and they said CMHA must put in paperwork for it be change and for us to start paying the bill. we never got a bill or anything , in july of 07 we resigned the lease due to some changes , we once again still did not get a bill or had it put in our name. it is now 20 months later and we are mailed a notice of lease void and we have ten day to pay the landlord 3,000 in back bills or we have to move out. we called the gas company and they said they sent many notice to landlord saying that they have not gotten the paperwork to put the bill in our names.

are we still responsible for paying this bill even no we sent notices to both party and we were never noticed to pay any bill ?????

Answer 1

Keep  copies of the paperwork you sent requesting it to be put in your name. since it was not in your name you are not responsible the person who's name is on the bill is adn will have a hard time proving it was yours if they are the one that did not follow protocol to change it

Answer 2

You should not be required to pay anything for the utilities on this property as you took every good faith effort imaginable to ensure you were fulfilling your duty as a tenant. The landlord failed to follow through, which points to a possible case of fraud on his/her/their part.

Get in touch with a local housing agency or city office with regard to tenants' rights. You may need to retain the services of a lawyer.

Answer 3

Something is rotten in Denmark ...

If your lease states that you are responsible for the utilities, then you have to pay.

Basically, if your lease states that you are responsible for the utilties and you used the service, you owe.

Why would the landlord be responsible for putting the utilities in your name?

If CHMA was supposed to put in paperwork for the utilities to be transferred, why did you not ride their a$$e$ until they did so?

You should have done whatever was required to get this situation fixed, like, 20 months ago.

The utilities do not have to be in your name in order for you to be responsible for paying them. Your lease was your notice that you were responsible for those services.