What happens if I don’t pay my utilities?

I’ve never really understood how these things work. I’ve been a tenant for most of my life but I never encountered having the utility bills under my name – well, I’ve lived in only two apartments so far. Our setup was that the utilities will already be included in our rent and that was that. If someone doesn’t pay on time, then the landlord would have to shell out the money from his pocket. Yeah, that’s what I thought so: Poor Landlord.

Great info. Thank you!

I live in Florida and I’m a landlord. I also include in the lease agreement that the utility bills are to be transferred to the tenant’s name.But when the tenant’s don’t pay the bills, the utility company will not do anything unless the security deposit runs out. Lucky for my tenant’s the FL utility companies are not allowed to cut off services during the summer.

Again, it depends on the state that you’re in. In some states, the final responsibility lies on the tenants but in most other cities, the final responsibility would still lie on the landlord. So if the tenant doesn’t pay, the landlord could be liened.

A landlord always has the option for this. He can tell the tenant it’s his responsibility to pay for the utilities or he can just add the cost of the utilities to the monthly rent. As a landlord, I would always prefer the earlier option. I know in my state the tenant will be responsible for all the utilities and if they don’t pay, the landlord won’t get dragged into all this mess. BTW, I made that decision backed with the knowledge of my state laws and guidelines.

I usually receive notices from my utility company saying that my tenant is late on his utility payment. The letter is quite threatening because it tells me that if my tenant does not pay, my property will be liened against the outstanding balance. Yes, it’s unfair but since it’s the utility company and my property is at stake, I do everything that I can to force the tenant to pay up.

I learned that the landlord cannot just disconnect the services because that’s against the law. It’s either he place the utilities under his ow name or have a tenant place it under his/her own name. The utilites cannot be placed under the name of a third party, though.

Even if a tenant has already moved out, the utility companies would still bother landlord’s as they will be calling to ask for forwarding addresses, additional contact information and so on. Well, if the tenant does not owe you anything, you probably wouldn’t note where the new address is so you might not be of excellent help to your utility company.

You know what? If you’re confused, call your utility company directly and ask them questions. Your landlord is the expert when it comes to your apartment complex but the utility companies are the best people to talk to when it comes to concerns on your utility bills.

If we moved into a house and then the electricity was cut, do we have to pay the utility company even if it was’t our debt?