UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi there, I was renting a room in a LL's property,

I have since moved out and the LL is now asking for money for a large electricity bill, even though his AST states all bills are included ,

he is now demanding in excess of £5000 otherwise he will take me to a small claims court - thanks

Here is the point AST agreement -

The landlord will pay for gas and electricity services consumed on or supplied to the Premises
during the Term, subject to fair usage.


Please note, the LL me to sign an AST, which looks like a normal tenancy agreement one would give to someone renting a whole flat, it  says the deposit will be held under the terms of the deposit protection service, however I know for a fact she did not protect this, do I have any recourse on this, even though I am effectively a lodger renting a room,

With regard to the electricity bill,the bit about "subject to fair usage" is relevant.Have you seen the bill in question,and comparison bills from before you moved in? If you did use greatly more than an average lodger in one room, and she can offer proof,then she has a right to expect you to pay the excess.If she cannot provide proof then I would wait and see what happens,she may drop it. 

I don't see any real advantage to you responding in detail, other than by re-stating that the bills you mentioned were included in the rent and you do not believe you went beyond fair usage and consider the matter closed and will not engage further. If the ex-Landlord believes otherwise then they would need to prove that in Court - you are just a respondent. I think that the ex-Landlord is likely to be the despondent [one]. I can't see that there'd be a burden of proof on you in this situation, and I don't see how it's even achievable for the ex-Landlord to prove you went above-and-beyond (unless she has photos of your Bitcoin mining rigs whirring away 24/7 or has room-by-room metering). The reason I suggest you reply simply, and once, is so you can demonstrate to the Court (if anything ever ends up there) that you didn't just ignore the ex-Landlord.

I agree.
Responding is important.

The landlord wouldn't seem to have a chance in court based on what you've posted.
It doesn't cost a lot to make a claim, so there's a chance they'll try and use the threat and associated stress as leverage.
Just politely reply referring to the agreement each time.

Hey all, and thanks so so much for the response's!!

I thought i may give you a bit on context in what happened, he has printed out electricity bills which show increased usage since myself and the other tenant moved in ( hemoved in a month prior to me moving in ), now the house is very old, so old there is condensation and mould on all the windows.
I even bought an electric thermometer to check the temperate as I thought I was going nuts, ( I've never experienced a house this cold before ) on a normal evening it would show 16/17 degrees, which is freezing and that's with the windows closed.

The only proof he has is I have a electric heater in my room, without it I would have been frozen, he is claiming I had the heater on for months on end even on summer months when she was not even in the property but on holiday.

Also would it make any difference as I signed an AST agreement which it seems she got online, and I'm a lodger.

But the AST does state "The Deposit will be held under the terms of the Deposit Protection Service." - I know for a fact he did not protect the deposit,

So does the AST supersede the fact I'm a lodger or does it mean because its written in the AST she must protect the deposit?

Any help would be appreciated!

You're conflating issues... either you want to stand by your electric bill position or you want to try and take your ex-Landlord to the cleaners. What's your main objective?

I suspect they are hoping to do both.Sorry,but I do wonder what the landlord would have to say about all this.You don't take lodgers in for fun,so she may have been left seriously out of pocket if this "all-inclusive" deal was abused.Neither landlords nor tenants should be trying to rip each other off.

Quote from: Hippogriff on September 09, 2023, 06:55:16 AM
You're conflating issues... either you want to stand by your electric bill position or you want to try and take your ex-Landlord to the cleaners. What's your main objective?

Hey there, my main aim is to be done with the landlord and not to do anything, in an ideal world I would want him to leave me alone, but he's been so hostile towards me sending me all these threatening letters, maybe I've been watching too much suits, thinking I could use something to leverage him into dropping this whole thing.

I don't want any money from the LL, just want this issue to be over with so we can both get on with our lives

One quick, formal reply then - as advised - you can consider the matter closed, and engage no more, until the point you receive information about a claim. We tend to think it'll be unlikely, but it may happen.

Quote from: Hippogriff on September 11, 2023, 02:26:09 PM
One quick, formal reply then - as advised - you can consider the matter closed, and engage no more, until the point you receive information about a claim. We tend to think it'll be unlikely, but it may happen.

ok great, I think ill send him a letter stating what you just said the matter from my end is closed and if he wish to initiate legal proceeding then I will await the court summons?

I've never been to court before, so no idea what to expect, is it going to be scary?

I think we are placing bets on the ex-Landlord will not take it further beyond trying to bully you into paying... it doesn't sound like there's a case here. There's certainly no actual proof.

Court might be scary if you're a proper crim-crim. We don't think you are. I have never been to Court before.

But I have worked down a salt mine in Cheshire. That was quite scary, but I still enjoyed it. So if the chance of a new kind of life experience arises for you, where the downside isn't actually that bad, take it.

Quote from: Hippogriff on September 11, 2023, 02:49:34 PM
I think we are placing bets on the ex-Landlord will not take it further beyond trying to bully you into paying... it doesn't sound like there's a case here. There's certainly no actual proof.

Court might be scary if you're a proper crim-crim. We don't think you are. I have never been to Court before.

But I have worked down a salt mine in Cheshire. That was quite scary, but I still enjoyed it. So if the chance of a new kind of life experience arises for you, where the downside isn't actually that bad, take it.

lets just hope that's the case, ill keep you guys posted on what happens, if its anything like  the series suits I wouldn't mind court

Either way I do really appreciate your input - so thank you!