Water Charges / Tax / Demonstrations / Irish Water / Meter Installations etc etc

Angel2016 · 14-07-2016 11:50am

I have a property that has been rented since Feb 2013 to my tenant she is leaving on August 1st as the property is being sold so I am just wrapping everything up with it.

I was advised to get a letter from Irish water to show I am not liable for the charges on the apartment and that I will need this for the close of sale, I contacted Irish Water and my tenant has not registered to pay the charges like alot of people I would imagine they asked me for all her details so they can bill her but I am reluctant to do this at present and will take advice from my solicitor because of the way things have gone with Irish water and it being put on the back burner for a while, the reality is she doesn't want to pay the bill like alot of people and we have a very good relationship plus I dont want to hand out her personal details without knowing my rights and where I stand on it all.

Has anyone any information on this situation or been in this situation with a tenant ?

Will it delay the sale of the property?

Thanks

Atlantic Dawn · 14-07-2016 11:52am

What did you have written in the lease about water bills being included or excluded in the rent?

uck51js9zml2yt · 14-07-2016 11:53am

Tenant is liable for water charges.
Despite the current regime, the tenant still has an obligation to pay.
Pass their details onto IW.

punisher5112 · 14-07-2016 11:54am

Angel2016 wrote: »

I have a property that has been rented since Feb 2013 to my tenant she is leaving on August 1st as the property is being sold so I am just wrapping everything up with it.

I was advised to get a letter from Irish water to show I am not liable for the charges on the apartment and that I will need this for the close of sale, I contacted Irish Water and my tenant has not registered to pay the charges like alot of people I would imagine they asked me for all her details so they can bill her but I am reluctant to do this at present and will take advice from my solicitor because of the way things have gone with Irish water and it being put on the back burner for a while, the reality is she doesn't want to pay the bill like alot of people and we have a very good relationship plus I dont want to hand out her personal details without knowing my rights and where I stand on it all.

Has anyone any information on this situation or been in this situation with a tenant ?

Will it delay the sale of the property?

Thanks

Even with the 9 month stop the charges will be back. <mod snip>

Tenant is liable.

Contact tenant and tell them you need it sorted and you have no choice but to pass details if she won't.

Bob24 · 14-07-2016 12:48pm

Basically you have 3 options:
- Give the details of the tenant to IW so that the debt has nothing to do with you or the property any-more (legally the tenant is person liable for it). It doesn't matter whether they actually pay (which is their problem); what matters to you is that they clearly become the person liable to pay.
- If you don't want to upset your tenant, you can pay the bills yourself to sort the situation even though you are not the one liable.
- if you don't do any of the previous two things, the debt will be legally attached to the property, meaning whoever is buying it from you will become legally liable. Their solicitor will likely notice this, which will delay the sale. You will then have a discussion with the buyer through your solicitors to negotiate what to do about the situation and basically either you will need to accept to pay or the buyer will need to accept taking over the liability to IW. If I was the buyer, I would use this as an excuse to ask fro a discount on the agreed sales price as this was originally not disclosed and not part of the deal, so eventually you are likely to end up wasting time, maybe solicitor fees, and being the one paying.

My first recommendation is the first option (if the tenant doesn't want to pay fine, but they should take the responsibility for it rather than leaving it with you). And if you are not happy with that you should really go for the second option as otherwise it will eventually come back to you one way or another.

Angel2016 · 14-07-2016 12:51pm

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

What did you have written in the lease about water bills being included or excluded in the rent?

She is there since Feb 2013 so on the first lease I didn't have anything included and on the second one we were really unsure as to what was happening I said it to her when IW first came on the scene and said look we will see how its progresses but now that I am selling the place I need it sorted.

Angel2016 · 14-07-2016 12:52pm

Bob24 wrote: »

Basically you have 3 options:
- Give the details of the tenant to IW so that the debt has nothing to do with you or the property any-more (legally the tenant is person liable for it). It doesn't matter whether they actually pay which is their problem, what matters to you is that they clearly become the person liable to pay.
- If you don't want to upset your tenant, you can pay the bills yourself to sort the situation even though you are not the one liable.
- if you don't do any of the previous two things, the debt will be legally attached to the property, meaning whoever is buying it from you will become legally liable. Their solicitor will likely notice this, which will delay the sale. You will then have a discussion with the buyer through your solicitors to negotiate what to do about the situation and basically either you will need to accept to pay or the buyer will need to accept taking over the liability to IW. If I was the buyer, I would use this as an excuse to ask fro a discount on the agreed sales price as this was originally not disclosed and not part of the deal, so eventually you are likely to end up wasting time, maybe solicitor fees, and being the one paying.

My first recommendation is the first option (if the tenant doesn't want to pay fine, but they should take the responsibility for it rather than leaving it with you). And if you are not happy with that you should really go for the second option as otherwise it will eventually come back to you one way or another.

Thanks all I am going with option one and will pass on her details because I have other charges to be paying out with the maintenance fees etc and NPPR

TheChizler · 14-07-2016 1:05pm

Angel2016 wrote: »

Bob24 wrote: »

Basically you have 3 options:
- Give the details of the tenant to IW so that the debt has nothing to do with you or the property any-more (legally the tenant is person liable for it). It doesn't matter whether they actually pay which is their problem, what matters to you is that they clearly become the person liable to pay.
- If you don't want to upset your tenant, you can pay the bills yourself to sort the situation even though you are not the one liable.
- if you don't do any of the previous two things, the debt will be legally attached to the property, meaning whoever is buying it from you will become legally liable. Their solicitor will likely notice this, which will delay the sale. You will then have a discussion with the buyer through your solicitors to negotiate what to do about the situation and basically either you will need to accept to pay or the buyer will need to accept taking over the liability to IW. If I was the buyer, I would use this as an excuse to ask fro a discount on the agreed sales price as this was originally not disclosed and not part of the deal, so eventually you are likely to end up wasting time, maybe solicitor fees, and being the one paying.

My first recommendation is the first option (if the tenant doesn't want to pay fine, but they should take the responsibility for it rather than leaving it with you). And if you are not happy with that you should really go for the second option as otherwise it will eventually come back to you one way or another.

Thanks all I am going with option one and will pass on her details because I have other charges to be paying out with the maintenance fees etc and NPPR

I think it's pretty much too late to pass on details at this stage. There's a provision in the act that makes the landlord responsible for the charges if they don't make sure their tenant is registered within 20 (I think it's 20 but might be wrong) days of the tenancy commencing. If you provide their details now you'll be responsible from when charges came in until now, and she'll be responsible from now until when she actually moves out.

The best outcome for you is either for her to register and pay the charges for the last year and a half, or you pay them and she pays you.

Angel2016 · 14-07-2016 2:38pm

TheChizler wrote: »

I think it's pretty much too late to pass on details at this stage. There's a provision in the act that makes the landlord responsible for the charges if they don't make sure their tenant is registered within 20 (I think it's 20 but might be wrong) days of the tenancy commencing. If you provide their details now you'll be responsible from when charges came in until now, and she'll be responsible from now until when she actually moves out.

The best outcome for you is either for her to register and pay the charges for the last year and a half, or you pay them and she pays you.

No I checked with IW and with a neighbor of mine who just sold and once you pass on the tenants details she is liable for the charges now whether or not she pays them is her business but for me with the sale I get a letter stating I am not liable hence it does not stay with the apartment after its sold.

TheChizler · 18-07-2016 12:06pm

Angel2016 wrote: »

TheChizler wrote: »

I think it's pretty much too late to pass on details at this stage. There's a provision in the act that makes the landlord responsible for the charges if they don't make sure their tenant is registered within 20 (I think it's 20 but might be wrong) days of the tenancy commencing. If you provide their details now you'll be responsible from when charges came in until now, and she'll be responsible from now until when she actually moves out.

The best outcome for you is either for her to register and pay the charges for the last year and a half, or you pay them and she pays you.

No I checked with IW and with a neighbor of mine who just sold and once you pass on the tenants details she is liable for the charges now whether or not she pays them is her business but for me with the sale I get a letter stating I am not liable hence it does not stay with the apartment after its sold.

They're responsible for them from the date on which IW are notified and given the tenant's details, but this is the section of the act I was referring to.

Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015

47. The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 is amended by inserting the following section after section 23:

Registration with Irish Water

23A. (1) Where water services are provided to a dwelling by Irish Water, the owner of the dwelling shall, subject to subsections (2) and (3)

(a) register with Irish Water as a customer and confirm whether or not the dwelling is his or her principal private residence, or

(b) notify Irish Water, in writing or in such other form and manner as Irish Water may specify, that he or she is not the occupier of the dwelling and provide

(i) the date of commencement of any agreement for the occupation of the dwelling, and

(ii) the name of each person with whom the owner has such an agreement for the occupation of the dwelling,

not later than

(I) 20 working days after the coming into operation of section 47 of the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015, and

(II) where there is a change in the occupation of the dwelling after the coming into operation of section 47 of the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015, 20 working days after such a change.

(2) Subsection (1)(I) shall not apply to the owner of a dwelling where, before the coming into operation of section 47 of the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015, Irish Water has been notified of the details of the occupation of the dwelling concerned.

(3) Where the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 applies to the dwelling concerned, subsection (1)(a) shall not apply to the owner of the dwelling but that owner shall comply with subsection (1)(b).

(4) Notwithstanding section 21(5) and subsection (5) of this section, where the owner of a dwelling fails to comply with subsection (1)(b), the owner shall pay to Irish Water any charge under section 21 in respect of the dwelling for the period from the date of commencement of the agreement for the occupation of the dwelling until the date on which the owner so complies.

(5) (a) Unless such an agreement expressly provides otherwise, an agreement for the occupation of a dwelling entered into after the coming into operation of section 47 of the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 is deemed to include a provision that the occupier shall pay to Irish Water any charge under section 21 in respect of the dwelling for the period from the date on which the agreement commences until the date on which the occupier vacates the dwelling.

(b) The exception provided for in paragraph (a) shall not apply to a dwelling to which the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 applies.

Relevant bits in bold.

Angel2016 · 18-07-2016 1:00pm

Okay thanks I have passed on all her details so just waiting for a reply from IW

Bob24 · 18-07-2016 1:16pm

Angel2016 wrote: »

Okay thanks I have passed on all her details so just waiting for a reply from IW

If you don't mind could you post an update here once you have a reply from them? I am curious to know if they are indeed enforcing a maximum delay to pass-on tenant details.

Angel2016 · 18-07-2016 2:40pm

Bob24 wrote: »

If you don't mind could you post an update here once you have a reply from them? I am curious to know if they are indeed enforcing a maximum delay to pass-on tenant details.

Sure will do, I know my next door neighbor who just sold was in the same position she passed on the details of her tenants just the name and address of the property they said that the tenant goes on the database as liable but if they chose not to pay it thats another issue but once it's on the database the owner of the property is no longer liable and therefore she was issued a letter to state that which she passed onto the solicitor for the sale to proceed.

Angel2016 · 22-07-2016 9:28am

So just an update for everyone on Irish Water, I contacted them as I said I would and they said to give them my tenant's name and that they would enter her name on their database as being liable for the charges to be paid so I did that and they came back to me and said that because I never registered her name within the time scale given they have entered me down as liable for the charges on the property and that she will be liable from July 2016 which is no good seen as she is leaving Aug 1st.

They said that a bill was being sent out to the apartment in my name for it to be paid so I contacted my tenant yesterday and said that I needed her to register with IW to be liable for he bill because she has been there since Feb 2013 and here is the funny / annoying bit she told me that she couldn't possibly register with IW because she is already registered for her own house down in Wexford ! and that she wasn't going to register to pay two sets of bills I had to keep my cool to be honest as I was fuming I said look I am not paying your bills and that you only have to register as liable and dont pay the bills if you don't want to but that I could not have that outstanding for the sale of the property she then told me she is only doing the rent a room scheme in her house so is liable for that property and then she said sure you have been down on the bill since it came in so that means you must pay it....eh no I don't think so plus she rented the apt for 450 less then then the going rate and now she expects me to pay her bills.

I said I will call IW today and see what the situation is and her response was ye grand sure we can come to some arrangement as in split the bill 50/50 if it has to be paid lol....it makes me laugh at the cheek of her.

IW were contridicting themselves one person telling me one thing and another telling me the opposite, I will call them shortly.

Bob24 · 22-07-2016 9:37am

Angel2016 wrote: »

So just an update for everyone on Irish Water, I contacted them as I said I would and they said to give them my tenant's name and that they would enter her name on their database as being liable for the charges to be paid so I did that and they came back to me and said that because I never registered her name within the time scale given they have entered me down as liable for the charges on the property and that she will be liable from July 2016 which is no good seen as she is leaving Aug 1st.

They said that a bill was being sent out to the apartment in my name for it to be paid so I contacted my tenant yesterday and said that I needed her to register with IW to be liable for he bill because she has been there since Feb 2013 and here is the funny / annoying bit she told me that she couldn't possibly register with IW because she is already registered for her own house down in Wexford ! and that she wasn't going to register to pay two sets of bills I had to keep my cool to be honest as I was fuming I said look I am not paying your bills and that you only have to register as liable and dont pay the bills if you don't want to but that I could not have that outstanding for the sale of the property she then told me she is only doing the rent a room scheme in her house so is liable for that property and then she said sure you have been down on the bill since it came in so that means you must pay it....eh no I don't think so plus she rented the apt for 450 less then then the going rate and now she expects me to pay her bills.

I said I will call IW today and see what the situation is and her response was ye grand sure we can come to some arrangement as in split the bill 50/50 if it has to be paid lol....it makes me laugh at the cheek of her.

IW were contridicting themselves one person telling me one thing and another telling me the opposite, I will call them shortly.

Thanks for the update - IW's answer might be of interest to other people - and all the best to get this fixed.

You might want to double-check, but I *think* that if you included in the lease that all utility bills are the responsibility of the tenant, you should legally be able to withhold the amount to cover the bills from her deposit. Sure the bills where sent under your name but since you have no access to the property there is no way you could have known.

Angel2016 · 22-07-2016 10:10am

Thanks I will check the lease

rkrk · 15-08-2016 12:08am

ive been renting in a house for the last 3 years and will be moving soon. i havnt paid any water bills that came and havnt registered with irish water even though bills have come in my name.

will i have to pay them all now or is the landlord entitled to withhold deposit money to pay them?

about a year ago they mentioned it to us and we said we would pay if we had to but wanted to see what way it went first and told them we wouldnt let them get caught to pay it if they became compulsary.

L1011 · 15-08-2016 5:39am

They were always compulsory...

rkrk · 15-08-2016 10:05am

L1011 wrote: »

They were always compulsory...

ya but half the people didnt agree. thats a matter for another thread

The_Conductor · 15-08-2016 10:07am

rkrk wrote: »

ya but half the people didnt agree. thats a matter for another thread

Thats moot.
It is your bill- you are responsible for it.
That half the population hasn't paid it- is irrelevant- and indeed, was clarified by the EU only last Thursday- it is compulsary, it is not going to be abolished- those who owe money will be chased for it, with penalties accruing.

Bob24 · 15-08-2016 10:12am

rkrk wrote: »

ive been renting in a house for the last 3 years and will be moving soon. i havnt paid any water bills that came and havnt registered with irish water even though bills have come in my name.

will i have to pay them all now or is the landlord entitled to withhold deposit money to pay them?

about a year ago they mentioned it to us and we said we would pay if we had to but wanted to see what way it went first and told them we wouldnt let them get caught to pay it if they became compulsory.

In short: as mentioned by the previous poster the charges have always been mandatory and technically as the resident of the property you are legally liable (though you are in a grey area as you didn't register and you landlord didn't force-register you). At the end of the day either yourself or your landlord has to pay - if they don't force you to register they will become legally liable. If neither yourself not the landlord accept to pay right now the charges will be associated to their property with late payment fees building up over time, and it will come back to haunt them whenever their decide to sell the property (or maybe if the future when new tenants move in depending one the Irish Water policies). From their perspective it would be silly to let you get away with not paying.

If you don't pay I assume they will attempt to withhold the amount from your deposit (easy of they have a clause in the lease saying you need to pay all utility bills associated to the property - more difficult but probably still possible if they don't), and won't write you a good reference if you need one.

rkrk · 15-08-2016 10:18am

The_Conductor wrote: »

Thats moot.
It is your bill- you are responsible for it.
That half the population hasn't paid it- is irrelevant- and indeed, was clarified by the EU only last Thursday- it is compulsary, it is not going to be abolished- those who owe money will be chased for it, with penalties accruing.

i just keep hearing mixed things about it, that they wont be following up unpaid bills, then that they will. so the eu said last week they will be chasing people for unpaid bills with penaltys.
i think it is relevant that most people dont agree to them. it is a democracy.

rkrk · 15-08-2016 10:20am

Bob24 wrote: »

In short: as mentioned by the previous poster the charges have always been mandatory and technically as the resident of the property you are legally liable (though you are in a grey area as you didn't register and you landlord didn't force-register you). At the end of the day either yourself or your landlord has to pay - if they don't force you to register they will become legally liable. If neither yourself not the landlord accept to pay right now the charges will be associated to their property with late payment fees building up over time, and it will come back to haunt them whenever their decide to sell the property (or maybe if the future when new tenants move in depending one the Irish Water policies). From their perspective it would be silly to let you get away with not paying.

If you don't pay I assume they will attempt to withhold the amount from your deposit (easy of they have a clause in the lease saying you need to pay all utility bills associated to the property - more difficult but probably still possible if they don't), and won't write you a good reference if you need one.

ok thanks for the help.they havnt mentioned it so far and we only had to give a months notice and im out of the house friday. wil check the lease again later about utility bills

dudara · 15-08-2016 10:26am

If the bills have your name on them, then you are liable.

rkrk · 15-08-2016 10:31am

bills have also come for the same time period with other names on them. because something comes with my name how does that make me liable. what gives i.w. the right to charge people twice or 3 times for the same thing. i cant see how that should stand. the whole set up is a farce.

Bob24 · 15-08-2016 10:32am

dudara wrote: »

If the bills have your name on them, then you are liable.

If the person never willingly registered and was not registered by their landlord (i.e. IW probably got their name from the PTRB's database of tenancies) - are you sure their are still liable?

In the spirit of the law they clearly should be as they are the resident - but since they never actually confirmed they live their and the landlord never did either, is IW not going to consider the landlord as the resident by default as no-one else ever raised their hand to pay?

Bob24 · 15-08-2016 10:38am

rkrk wrote: »

bills have also come for the same time period with other names on them. because something comes with my name how does that make me liable. what gives i.w. the right to charge people twice or 3 times for the same thing. i cant see how that should stand. the whole set up is a farce.

The law clearly says the occupier of the premises is liable for the charges. The reason you might get away with not paying is if they can't prove you were the occupier during that period, and they turn to your landlord as it is easier to chase them because they have nowhere to hide.

But make no mistake, if you do that you will indeed be breaking the law by refusing to acknowledge your position as the occupier of the premises to avoid a legal liability related to it.

rkrk · 15-08-2016 10:42am

if it comes to it i will pay, just hoping theres a way around it. since this started i presume tennants have left propertys and this has probably come up hundreds of times around the country.
my landlord is fairly switched on when it comes to money so id imagine it will be held back in the deposit or something like that

rkrk · 15-08-2016 10:59am

because this has more then likely come up so many times and tennants who are against the charges have had to pay when leaving it will make the "people who have paid their bills" figure look alot better too

durtybit · 24-08-2016 6:38pm

Am sure the legal system will be clogged for years if everyone waits for a court case. Thats what happened the last time they tried to introduce this system. EU says a lot of things are compulsory but does that mean we follow tgem. Take corporation tax as an example.

L1011 · 25-08-2016 8:44am

durtybit wrote: »

Am sure the legal system will be clogged for years if everyone waits for a court case.

A few carefully chosen test cases and/or handing collection to Revenue and that's that sorted.

durtybit · 26-08-2016 4:43pm

L1011 wrote: »

A few carefully chosen test cases and/or handing collection to Revenue and that's that sorted.

Scare tactics

How can revenue collect on behalf of a utility? This is not a tax.. (well at least they say it's not)

They will have to choose very carefully and not pick someone who has never agreed to be signed up nor is connected to the mains, however landed with a "Contract" that they never signed up to.

The_Conductor · 26-08-2016 7:38pm

durtybit wrote: »

Scare tactics

How can revenue collect on behalf of a utility? This is not a tax.. (well at least they say it's not)

They will have to choose very carefully and not pick someone who has never agreed to be signed up nor is connected to the mains, however landed with a "Contract" that they never signed up to.

Irish Water is *not* a utility company in the broadest sense of the term though. Of our 4.8 million population- there are fewer than 200,000 (including children etc) who are not availing of services undertaken by local authorities on behalf of Irish Water.

Irish Water is legally a state entity (much to the government's displeasure- however, they were informed this was the case by the EU Commission)- so as a state entity- why couldn't the Revenue Commissioners collect on their behalf? It would entail outsourcing significant contracts to Capita (SWS) or similar- as Revenue would never be allowed recruit an entire call centre- regardless of their current staffing complement..........

In any event- didn't the new law which came in allow all utilities- including the likes of Virgin/Eircom/ESB/Airtricity/BordGais etc etc- purloin salaries or social welfare disbursements, within certain limits, in satisfaction of debts? Think it came in in Jan?

L1011 · 27-08-2016 8:14pm

durtybit wrote: »

Scare tactics

How can revenue collect on behalf of a utility? This is not a tax.. (well at least they say it's not)

They will have to choose very carefully and not pick someone who has never agreed to be signed up nor is connected to the mains, however landed with a "Contract" that they never signed up to.

Because the state can make laws as required, remember. IW is a state owned and controlled agency, using Revenue to collect state debts is perfectly sound.

"agreed" or "signed up" is irrelevant to the requirement to pay - anyone who tells you that is selling you a shaggy dog tale.

The commission assigned to decide what to do will advise a return to charging - indeed it could easily be higher than it was. And there'll be no more faffing around - FF are not anti water charges, they're pro whatever gets them elected and being able to blame a bogeyman is enough for them; so they'll not oppose draconian collection.

rkrk · 29-08-2016 10:48pm

landlord didnt even mention it so neither did i

Siipina · 31-08-2016 8:59am

Just poped into my head.
What about the water charges if you are renting and move out?
We have only seen a bill once, it was in LL name as we never signed up or even got the pack. LL took the bill back so we would not even able to pay it if we wanted to. All notifications if there is any water cut offs go to LL.
The power supply is in LL own name as well but it is prepaid so this wont be a problem. Any ideas how this will work out?

L1011 · 31-08-2016 9:01am

Who is "her" in this situation? Landlord?

Siipina · 31-08-2016 9:02am

L1011 wrote: »

Who is "her" in this situation? Landlord?

Sorry changed it

L1011 · 31-08-2016 9:07am

If the LL has been holding on to the bills and its in their name, I don't see how you'd be liable. There is a risk they'll try pin it on you in future when charging is resumed, though.

Siipina · 31-08-2016 9:26am

But can LL keep the deposit then?

SarahS2013 · 31-08-2016 11:58am

I'd imagine so yeah, for outstanding bills.

Beanybabog · 31-08-2016 1:04pm

If the landlord wants to retain some of the deposit to pay the bill you can get the bill put into your own name and forwarded to you at your new address. The landlord can then get a letter of non-liability (if they need to sell). t's up to you then if you pay or not

L1011 · 31-08-2016 1:09pm

Beanybabog wrote: »

t's up to you then if you pay or not

Except that it will almost certainly have quite a compulsion on it after the commission report is back.

rkrk · 01-09-2016 1:56am

read back the last page or two

Siipina · 01-09-2016 6:39am

rkrk wrote: »

read back the last page or two

I did thanks, the difference was that the bills never came to the house all of them went to 'LL and for me it just doesn't feel right to pay for something where either my name nor address is on.
But will tell 'LL about the name change.
Thanks a lot everyone

GGTrek · 22-01-2017 9:19pm

My understanding is that as a landlord I am still liable for the arrears until 31 March 2016, correct? The name of the tenant was sent to Irish water in 2015.
My idea is to call Irish water tomorrow and to ask for an oustanding balance of the arrears and discount it from deposit, but will they give the balance to me now or only when the registration reverts back to my name after the tenant is out?
Will Irish water charge late payment fees later in the year?
Sorry about asking but I could not find much info on this on the web.

Bob24 · 22-01-2017 9:42pm

GGTrek wrote: »

My understanding is that as a landlord I am still liable for the arrears until 31 March 2016, correct? The name of the tenant was sent to Irish water in 2015.
My idea is to call Irish water tomorrow and to ask for an oustanding balance of the arrears and discount it from deposit, but will they give the balance to me now or only when the registration reverts back to my name after the tenant is out?
Will Irish water charge late payment fees later in the year?
Sorry about asking but I could not find much info on this on the web.

I'd say the first thing to clarify with Irish Water is to ask whether there is any outstanding debt which is either assigned to your name or not assigned to anyone (in which case it will default to you as the owner).

If it is not the case and all the debt is assigned to the tenant's name (I understand you registered them which was the right thing to do to cover yourself), then you are not liable for anything and never will be so there is nothing for you to worry about (it will be Irish Water's problem to chase that debt with your former tenant once they have left, nothing to do with you anymore).

If some debt is indeed assigned to yourself or not assigned to anyone, they should have no problem giving you the balance and you can decide on the arrangement with your tenant based on that.

joeyboy12345 · 07-02-2017 7:13pm

We are tennants who have moved out of our rental accommodation last wk. The landlord is looking for proof we paid our water bills before he returns our deposit. We owe 300 euro but i thaught these were squashed?do i need to pay or am i a fool if i do?

Paulw · 07-02-2017 7:59pm

joeyboy12345 wrote: »

We are tennants who have moved out of our rental accommodation last wk. The landlord is looking for proof we paid our water bills before he returns our deposit. We owe 300 euro but i thaught these were squashed?do i need to pay or am i a fool if i do?

Legally, it was only put on hold. So, by the letter of the law, the landlord is well within his rights.

TheChizler · 07-02-2017 8:24pm

joeyboy12345 wrote: »

We are tennants who have moved out of our rental accommodation last wk. The landlord is looking for proof we paid our water bills before he returns our deposit. We owe 300 euro but i thaught these were squashed?do i need to pay or am i a fool if i do?

Bills were supended this year, ones previous to that are still owed. The landlord will get stuck with the bill if you're not registered.

Water Charges / Tax / Demonstrations / Irish Water / Meter Installations etc etc

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