Connected utilities, apartment lease revoked, am I required to pay?

Question

Hi,

I was supposed to move into an apartment last week. I called the gas company Tuesday to have it connected on Thursday. On Thursday I was supposed to pay security at which time the landlord would sign the lease and let us occupy the apartment.

Unfortunately my roommate didn't have the money and asked to extend the move-in day by 10 days - but we asked her not to hold the apartment - meaning the lease is not binding until we come back with the money and she puts down her signature.

This week I called the landlord and she decided to not give us the apartment.

I called the gas company today to have it disconnected and they said I would be charged for 6 days usage (from last Thursday to this Tuesday).

Am I legally required to pay the gas bill even though I never took residence in the apartment? Technically the lease was never signed by both parties nor did we move in.

Does that make a difference? What should I do?

Answer 1

Check the service terms and conditions (also called Tariff) for your utility company. In some cases, they do not bother to send a bill for less than 5 days. But if they do.....then....



I am sorry, but yes, your verbal contract was with the gas company. They delivered the gas to the apartment at your request, and that makes you responsible for payment. It doesn't matter to them that you didn't get to enjoy the heat.





The good news is that the bill will probably be minimal. If no one was in the apartment, there was no cooking and no hot water and probably no heat used, so you will just be billed for 1 week of the meter charges, and maybe 1 therm or CCF of gas. Probably less than $10 all together. If you tell me what city/state the apartment was in, I can give you a better estimate, or call the 800# of the gas company and they can tell you.



One thing to make sure of though, is that you get an actual meter readings and a final bill. If you don't get a final bill within 10 days, call them again and make sure your final meter reading was taken, if not you will be on the hook for a longer period of time. If the meter reads are estimated or prorated, those you can protest in most areas and insist on an actual read, which might wipe out the bill. Also, if the landlord gets a new tenant, chances are the utility company might ask the new tenant to take over as of the last meter read for the last tenant, which will get you off the hook.



Sorry - wish I had better answer for you.

Answer 2

Yes



You had the utilities connected, then you had them disconnected, you can sign up for a utility for someone else. If it were the landlords fault that you didn't move it then they would be legally required to pay that I suppose but it is due to your roommate not getting things together.

Answer 3

Yes you are responsible. You should of never had them turned on until you signed the lease.

Answer 4

Yes. It was under your name and even if you were'nt there the pilots were lit I'm sure and you will have to pay for that and the connection fee if any.