Transferring Utility Services When New Tenants Move In

Having a landlord with such a shit attitude like yours is probably the reason you get dodgy tenents. Tenents are doing you a service just as much as you are doing them a service. I treat ma tenents with the resoect they deserve and have never had any problems!

Agreed Shroma.

If I had someone treating me like a child, wiping my arse and contacting the council and utility companies I would want to flay them. I now have a very honed "shitlandlordometer" and I am afraid The Landlord that this article has increased your score some.

It is naive to suggest that Shrona is naive...she is just a human with some dignity. My naivity may show through here...if the tenant has signed an agreement with you...why the hell were you liable for anything while they legally occupied your gaff? I am genuinely interested in that. Why didn't you take the fuckers to court...or tell the council and utility companies to go and fuck themselves since you surely cannot be liable for these costs.

I agree fully, dont listen to these other people.
tenants will screw you over if given the chance.

Tenants don't do anything unless you remind them. I know I have had 15 years of handholding them. They are just spoiled and useless. Its the age - they are usually in their twenties or thirties and can't buy yet, they have just left uni or home and they are not yet fully grown up yet. I as a landlord have to be their new mommy and I did not have an attitude when I started this, I trusted everyone to be a grown up but I have learned different. Landlord I agree with everything you say - don't trust them to do anything, or you will be the one left with bills, mess, their old crap they leave behind and their constant moaning. Any advice on phones - my tenants have left and can't find one old bill so do not know who they are with, it was BT when they moved in 5 years ago. Any way of checking?

What a nob end Virtualfi is. You SOUND like someone who has been living off your tenants, sorry, 'dealing' with tenants and handholding them for 15 years. Your attitude sums up the type of tenants you will attract (fuck wits). I had some dumb bastard tell me he had been a landlord for 10 years and doesn't provide white goods because 'tenants break them'. I put the phone down on that cunt and got myself a real landlord. Guess how many white goods I have broken in nine years! That's right! Fewer than you I am guessing!

I have been a tenant for 9 years and guess what! I don't want CCJ's against my name or a shit credit rating. And that means sorting out ALL utilities, telephone, internet and any other service provider out there. If my landlord tried to interfere I would shove a rocket up his or her arse (except my current one who is lovely).

As for leaving stuff in the place, that's what deposits and dustbins are for (I am sure you have charged through the nose for cleaning up crumbs from a kitchen surface, so I guess you can just bin all of their stuff and charge them a £100 fee for the 10 hours it took one of your hairy mates).

Dr nogood, For your information I don't charge for that. I am entitled to put my side to the picture as I have had plenty of grief from spoilt strangers who treat me like their concierge. In fact that's a good idea I will start charging them. And my last tenannts broke the taps, the washing machine door, the window frame, and they are not the acception they are the norm. You must be some kind of saint sent from heaven. I am putting a clause in the next agreement that they can't change the utilities because they have and now its more unpaid work for me while they go on to crap on someone else! I hope I get asked for a reference - that will be good.

Unpaid work? What planet do you live on? Rent is payment for the house AND for your maintenance services. Have a read up on the landlord's responsibilities? Tenants aren't there to pay your mortgage...they are your customers. Also clauses like the one you mentioned are in no way defensible in a court. The judge will just laugh at you and then fine you for wasting his time. Just because something is in the contract doesn't make it enforceable.

How do you know they aren't the exception? How do you know they are the norm? What possible evidence do you have to back up your claim? It is this kind of baseless slur that makes people hate your ilk: landlords/ladies with an entitlement complex who think tenants exist to pay rent and shut up. Nobody forced you to rent out a property.

And no. I am not a saint. I just have respect for my landlord's property and they have respect for me as a tenant. Try it. It works wonders.

Landlords responsibilities are clear. They are clearly in the STA.
None of the things I mentioned ARE landlord responsibilities are they?? You are very rude. I have every right to state my problem with my tenants here without your rudeness it is quite uncalled for.

So that told you Dr Nogood!!

TB

Dr. Nogood is an espouser of vandalism since he believes that broken windows and appliances should always be fixed by the landlord regardless of who did the damage. Since he doesn't give a damn about other's property, he shouldn't expect the same for his own.

Also, rent is income, which can be used to pay off debts like mortgages, which pays off the house. DUH.

So I was due to move in to a new property, no money or keys were exchanged & no tenancy agreement was signed. The move got cancelled due to a flood but I had already changed the electric/gas over to my name from the expected move date.
Now my landlord/letting agents say I'm responsible for paying for these bills? I am not living there, never was & if they carry on being unreasonable I never will be.
Why am I responsible? I have tried to change my details back but it has proved difficult.
I was being a good & organised tennant. Why am I now being penalised?

AARGH - if only I'd found your site before. Thought I'd researched brilliantly, even went to a landlords & lettings show, and generally made myself a nuisance with my selected lettings agent.
However, no-one told me that the utility companies can royally muck up and that the tenants will keep quiet that they have NEVER had a bill in a year because they didn't give their details, despite me giving the closing meter readings.
The DPS still have their deposit, so I'm hoping that I will recover the money from that via the dispute procedure, especially as not setting up the accounts and not paying the bill are in breach of the terms of their AST.
You've been bookmarked now and I won't take a single step more without checking in with you!
Thanks for sharing!

I've been renting my property for over 8 years and generally have had decent tenants, I've done everything by the book and always fixed anything needed doing. At the end of the day I've found that tenants don't give a damm about your property especially students. I've just sold up as fed up with all the crap that comes along with it, the latest was the girls in my flat sub letting a room which meant that my property was liable for HMO, the council weren't interested in seeing my lease and threatened me with prosecution and they sided with the tenants. I then had to go through the NTQ process to get them to leave which thankfully went smoothly but low and behold I've got a letter from a debt collection company as there is an unpaid gas bill of £520. Easier to go after the registered landlord than the"off the radar tenant"

Dr Nogood - looks like you're in the minority!
Sad to say but in my experience the worst tenants are english. The odd good one. No dss tenant is EVER good though - never again for me. I thought about giving people chances but I might as well crouch down below their backside and wait for the inevitable to happen. But, what goes around comes around...now we have an influx of immigrants I never need to touch those wasters again. The europeans have a different outlook/work ethic/respect - call it what you will.
Actually I should probably clarify the comment on english tenants - it's usually the thick ones who are a nightmare!

My issue was sorted, I didn't have to pay anything as I could prove I wasn't living there (thank fully). It's a real shame to hear that so many people have issues with tennants.
To try & reassure you a bit there are some nice British professionals out there that prefer to rent. I for one treat my property as if it were my own & take care of it. I would not stitch up the letting agents or owner.
One thing I would add is that letting agents can be arseholes too! I had to add an additional 30 page inventory with my own photos (taken as soon as I got the keys) as the inventory list I got that I was supposed to sign was very poor and from about 10 years ago!!
Do your checks & get good references!

How do I do a meter reading for water if there isn't one there ? And would I be left with a previous tennats standerd electricity meter bill and last but least will I get a letter for electric come through soon in my name so I can check its ok ?

Have just found out that the house I am to rent has a key Meyer !have never had one before as a tenant the landlord says it is up to me to change it,now have found out that I will have to pay to change metres + be credit checked.Am a 70yr person should the landlord get it changed before I move in? Please can someone help with advice.Thanks

My tenants are vacating soon and are refusing to give the names of their gas and electricity suppliers.
I'm slightly concerned about this, because, I would like to take meter readings when the tenants have left and verify myself with the utility companies that the tenants have given the correct readings.

- B J -

You can use the following numbers to find out who the gas and electric suppliers are.

Electric - 08456 015 972
Gas - 08706 081 524

Hope this helps.

I have had no problems with my property the only thing is a gas company got in in touch and I have to apparently have to pay the gas company when my property is empty how do u work that out is this correct or are they just scamming money out of me. I'm not sure on this one my tenant moved out on 1st on the 3rd I had a new tenant moved.

I think that landlords and tenants all have their flaws. I have dealt with nothing but rude/lazy/neglectful landlords my entire life and I've been an excellent tenant, nothing destroyed and everything was left better than before I rented the place. Still I had to fight tooth and nail to get them to fix something that was their responsibility (ended up still being broken). There were a few times one landlord came to the property I was renting (DRUNK), while my two young children were playing in the yard and he started cursing at my husband and I for something his other tenants did, I had to call the cops on him and we moved.

Some tenants have given you all a bad run, but not All tenants are those who have wronged you. Remember the golden rule, do onto others as you would have them do onto you. Instead of being a tirent, get references before allowing anyone to move in, contact the references and if they don't check out don't rent.

Renters if a possible landlord gives you a bad vibe, don't rent from them.

Everyone just treat others like you would treat your parents, with respect and honesty!

What about when the renter calls the landlord who lives in Florida, telling three moths in advance about the exact moving date - tgen, two weeks before the moving date, when the senyera have book the movers and say to the landlord that the utilities will be transferred to the new residency, thus they will not have anything on their property afterward?
What if the landlord doesn't take the initiative to do their own business and make sure to put the utilities back in their name?
So that is what happen with us. We called this couple and in advance notified about our plans so they could plan ahead. They thought we were going to be still responsible for the utilities after moving out. So they did nothing. They had 3 months to buy a ticket plane but then they said their plan changed because ticket was expensive, so the husband would drive. Still, none one showed up when we moved out. We had to give the keys to a friend of ours and theirs.
Things happened, power went out, ice built and the laundry pipe broke. They are now refusing to return our security deposit because, according to them, the house was not ready neither fully vacant.
This is the reason why we prefer to deal with a property management, instead of "homeowners" that want to rent their house...
Many times we told about te roof issue, the concrete base falling apart, the patio ground uneven and when it rained, we ha ponds! Insulation issues and ceiling mold... What did they say? We don't have the money to fix the property.
Be careful to make business with these type of lazy and irresponsible landlords.

Some interesting perspectives in the comments above. I would like to reply to a couple of them. :)

I have been a renter for 15 years and a landlord for 2. During those 15 years I have been a DSS claimant, a student and then a professional working in a city. Not once have I taken for granted the properties I rent or broken any white goods. (I am Enlish btw :P )

I have had bad landlords and good ones. I have taken note of the things my good landlords did that made me consider them a good landlord and these are the things I do for my tenants.

One thing I have learnt as a tenant regarding utilities - The day you move in and the day you move out take photographs of the gas, electric and water meters so that even if you are too busy to call them and change the account holder details immediately you still have the correct reading for the day you moved in. I would also recommend this to letting agents, and landlords who live close to the property.

Another way to avoid tenants not transferring details etc and mess ups with bills is to include the cost of utilities in the rent price and keep the accounts in the landlords name.

My tenant left without informing the utility company, who refused to let me open an account with them or transfer to another company. They say there are arrears, yet I topped up the prepayment meter. I have to provide deeds to prove that I own the property and even then they plan to refund the tenant!!!

I am currently both a landlord and a tenant, and have been for the last 5 years - I can't believe how much this article looks down on tenants and how derogatory and condescending it is, and some of the comments! Of course I can only speak from my personal experience, but regarding utilities - it is obviously the responsibility of the current, occupying tenant to contact the companies, and advise them of their move in date, and when the time comes, of their moving out date - simple.
I recently moved house, and contacted the energy company the previous tenant was with as I wanted to change to a cheaper company - the previous tenant had not paid the bills, so the energy company just needed proof from me of my move in date, and here we are. The energy company has since contacted the previous tenants (via the landlord) and it is all sorted.
A landlord has no real right to prevent a tenant changing energy companies - I have changed for every property I have ever rented as I want a cheap/greener provider - that is my choice as a tenant - not the landlord.
As a landlord, I treat my tenants with respect, and open, clear communication, and I have never had any problems - I would never dictate to them how they live - it is my property, but it is their home, and as such, they have a right to privacy, and their own responsibility. I am so glad I don't have a landlord like the writer of this article - I would avoid with a barge pole!

I have a tenant I don’t get on with and energy bills are in my name. The internet advises me to change ownership of my account to by tenants name, but I don’t want to give control of my account or the tariff I organised to this person.

Is it expected that when I leave I have to transfer the ownership of my account, or can I just cancel and let the person rearrange their own deal?

I would prefer to cancel, but I’m not familiar with this process. I would transfer ownership of my broadband account simply because my housemate needs to pay the internet bill and receive Wi-Fi...

Hi
My Estate agent manages letting out my property. Are they responsible for contacting utility companies informing them that new tenants have moved in or is it up to my tenant. I also pay management fees.

Over 2 years ago tenants left my property. I agreed a date to take back keys, check over things and take meter readings etc. They left before this date and had someone return the keys on their behalf. No real wonder as they did leave a mountain of rubbish behind.
I was under the impression the electric account had been settled and closed as per the standard terms of the tenancy agreement ie the tenants are responsible for settling such accounts. This has not happened. The new tenant is unable to set up an account in his name as the old one not closed. The previous tenant clearly did not take a reading when he left and trying to offload blame to me and new tenant. Nice try I think

Tenants need to be careful too. I had a landlady hand me a card and key for prepayment meters saying I didn't have to contact the energy company because it was prepayment. I assumed that meant she had the energy in her name and wanted to keep it that way for whatever reason. Had to make my own account to get a gas engineer in to change the meters (they were faulty...) Found out from him that the account had been in a previous tenant's name before and not the landlady's.

She obviously did the same after I moved out. I know because of a text message nearly 2 weeks after handing keys back asking how to put more credit on the meters because her new tenants had woken up to find themselves without power. I had closed my account so shouldn't be chased for anything that happened after I moved (though have received a bill claiming I owe money despite leaving with credit left on both meters and wondering if it's somehow related to the old tenant's account. It's being looked into now anyways)

What if the tenant refuses bills to be transferred? We’re currently going through a process of evicting a tenant as they haven’t paid anything for over a year - it’s an extremely expensive and long legal procedure but at the very least we’d like to get the bills in their name as currently we’re paying everything. Can we do this ourselves or does she have to agree it?

What about dodgy landlords? My landlord paid the utility bills up until June 2023 then changed all the meters without tenants knowledge, gave tenants details to the energy companies without their knowledge. he gave me totally wrong information for the electricity supply to my flat and I ended up paying the electric for another flat for 5 months without knowing it until Nov when I was informed. I am still trying to sort it out now. Landlord has never admitted it and has never apologised even though there is plenty of proof he is at fault. What do you say to that then?