Bill on LL name & issues with let

edora91

I rented a 1-bedroom apartment in a rent-pressure zone about a month ago. I have a 6-month lease and the price is lower than average, but the place is small and dated and the estate is old, so I thought it's fair. It's within short walking distance from work, so it may not be perfect, but it's very convenient for me.

It has electric heating and the only bills due are electricity and bins. Initially the LL wanted me to transfer the electricity in my name and I took a photo of the meter readings when I moved in. I also took one when I paid my second rent. However, she quickly changed her mind about putting the electricity in my name. Turns out she has a 2-year contract in place. Fair enough, I was okay with paying the electricity bill to her as the money is being debited from her account. What can go wrong?

Well, she informed me about the first bill a few days before I was due to prepay my second rent. After some prompting she forwarded me the e-mail notification about the bill amount and due date. However, this does not include any address, units, tariff, etc information. Just an amount, account number and due date in an e-mail from the electricity provider.

Accordingly, I asked her to log in, download a copy of the bill from her account and forward it to me for the rent book and my records. I also sent her a link to a sample bill and the instructions how to log in to download the bill. In response she sent me some screenshots from the website mentioning the same amount, but nothing remotely resembling a bill or including period, units or tariffs applied. She also started accusing me of not trusting her and being a horrible tenant for asking for so many things.

To be honest, I did return a kettle that wasn't working when I moved in and I did ask her if she would like me to get a vacuum cleaner for the apartment. She replaced the kettle and I got my own vacuum cleaner after her firm rebuttal on this. I didn't have a choice considering the promised 'professional cleaning' hasn't taken place less than 5 years before I moved in. The lack of freezer compartment in the fridge was just the cherry on top. I blame myself I didn't notice during the crowded viewing and handed over my deposit too quickly.

The LL also spent a month arranging for an electrician to come see a faulty shaving light in the bathroom and a non-working storage heater in the kitchen/living room. Neither of the latter two issues was advertised or mentioned during the viewing. I wasted a weekend at home waiting for the electrician first on Saturday, then on Sunday and he is coming back this weekend with supplies to get the heating and lamp fixed.

To top all this, she just informed me she will not renew my lease after the 6 months and I can leave earlier if I give her 1 month notice. Apparently she plans to let the place as Airbnb during the summer and then rent it out for 100 euro more in the autumn. She repeated several times how the same apartment next door is being let for 100 euro more than mine. Fair enough, I haven't seen it to compare, but I do see (and hear) it's empty the last couple of weeks, so I have my reservations about the truth of the LL statements.

I paid deposit when I moved in, I am paying rent and bins on time. I also paid the bill in question as soon as she confirmed she requested a paper bill to be sent to my address. This was well before her direct debit dats. I am obviously in the market for a new place from May. I wish I could move earlier, bit putting together a new deposit and paying for two places for a period of time so soon after I moved is just not feasible for me. Moving is just too expensive.

Having written the novel above, I have just one question - am I being demanding and unreasonable by requesting a copy of the electricity bill I am paying?

Do you have any tips how to proceed? I am not Irish, so her next quip was how no Irish tenant would ask for the bill and so much detail... I can't help it but wonder what am I doing wrong. Is it a cultural thing over here to pay everything without looking at the details?

Thanks in advance!

the_syco

edora91 wrote: »

Well, she informed me about the first bill a few days before I was due to prepay my second rent. After some prompting she forwarded me the e-mail notification about the bill amount and due date. However, this does not include any address, units, tariff, etc information. Just an amount, account number and due date in an e-mail from the electricity provider.

How much was the bill? Is there any chance that you'd be paying some of her bill as well?

Not so much a question at you, but at the other posters; if the OP doesn't move after the 6 months, and the LL doesn't give her eviction notice in the proper time, can the OP claim Part IV and stay there?

Finally, you mention the RPZ; I'd wonder how much over the 4% the €100 is?

edora91

the_syco wrote:

How much was the bill? Is there any chance that you'd be paying some of her bill as well?

The bill was just under €110. According to the LL she paid an out of cycle bill just before I moved in, so this is my first bill. However, I am concerned because she seems to be doing a lot of evading in order not show me the actual bill showing the period covered. If the bill is mine and she can log in to send screenshots, why not send the actual bill with the details?

I did the maths and the units of energy I used during the first month cost between €83-99 depending on the electricity plan. €110 doesn't seem excessive for a bill based on prediction about the electricity use during the period. I was warned that the previous tenant was in all the time and ran high electricity bills. I am in mostly in the evenings, but electrical heating gets pricy quickly.

the_syco wrote:

Not so much a question at you, but at the other posters; if the OP doesn't move after the 6 months, and the LL doesn't give her eviction notice in the proper time, can the OP claim Part IV and stay there?

Not a question for me, but I can say straight away I don't care about Part IV tenancy rights at this point. If everything has to be a fight and the LL is so keen on 100 quid, I can only wish her best of luck with her Airbnb guests or new tenant. It's stressful for me to be threated like this every time I contact the LL and I just want out.

the_syco wrote:

Finally, you mention the RPZ; I'd wonder how much over the 4% the €100 is?

It's almost four times higher, or increase of over 15%. No argument, the price at the moment is cheap. When I got the lease I considered it fair for the apartment, but the LL has developed other opinions about this after she talked with her neighbour. I would consider the appartement at the new price, but not with the current LL.

To be fair, I had a colleague paying €250 for a slightly bigger newly-built 1-bedrom apartment in the same estate. This one had new energy-efficient electrical appliances, good isolation and oil heating, so his bills were roughly €50 per month (bi-monthly electricity, oil, bins). I also have a colleague on a Part IV paying the same as me for a 2-bedroom apartment in a nearby estate. Comparing, it looked like my 10 years old apartment on electrical heating is at a fair price. Lesson learned, never trust a good deal.

ted1

89 Euro + standing charge + PSO levy would easily add up to 110.