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I am renting a former Texas home out. When my tenants call and have the utilities moved under their name am I suppose to cancel my account? Can I call to confirm they have moved utilities to their name? I'm assuming that I don't do anything and that when the tenants call to have everything moved under their name I will no longer be billed the monthly charges. If not does anyone have any advice on what to do? I'm still learning all the rules around renters rights and I don't want to get sued because I cut the electricity or gas off to the tenants. It is a Texas rental property as well.
Call the utilities company and ask them what the procedure is. Normally they should be able to tell you if it is still in your name.
In my region it is a pain - normally when electricity is transferred from one party to another there or off and then on again is a fairly large fee to switch it over. However they offer a "continuous service agreement" which allows a seamless transfer back to the LL for a lower fixed fee.
What gets icky about it:
1 - I've had bum tenants simply call the utilities company and say they were moving out. They weren't and I ended up paying for their electricity. The electric company will not notify the holder of the continuous service agreement and you don't find out until a billing cycle has passed.
2 - they make it hard to cut off the electricity to bum tenants. I've had bum tenants who were being evicted pull this trick and then stick me with their electric bills. If you call the electric company and tell them to cancel, they say they have to notify the inhabitants and give them ten days to put the electric in their name. Problem is, the electric company (this is CVPS by the way, they are utterly incompetent) has botched this time and again. Another month goes by and you get another bill because they simply decide NOT to cancel and do not honor your request to cancel.
I make sure it is in the lease that the tenants are responsible for the utilities. I then call the utilities and inform them to tuen off the utilities(water and electric). I also inform them that new tenants are moving in. Typicaly CPS does not turn off the power. They wait for the new customer to sign on.
On one occasion, I had a tenant have the utilities switched to a new address and end service in my property. The utilities in my property continued. The tenant did not move and was eventually evicted after 2 months. The problem began when CPS wanted the new tenant to pay for the 2 months that was used with no one paying. I had to prove to CPS that the old tenant had not moved(court papers) before they would bill the old tenant. They almost turned off the power for the new tenant who refused to pay the previous 2 months that they did not live there.
It has become a nightmare. What I do now is tell CPS to turn off the power when a tenant vacates. It may be a month or two before it gets rented and CPS wants the new tenant to pay the vacant period. I could have them turned into my name in the interim, but that got confusing and a billing nightmare. It's easier to use a generator if I need power.
The biggest problem is that CPS does not and will not inform me when a tenant turns off power to thier name.
I have a rental property and the tenant says her water bill is high without proof. Can I obtain information from the utility company even though it is not in my name?
I have a rental property and the tenant says her water bill is high without proof. Can I obtain information from the utility company even though it is not in my name?
Why not just ask your tenant for a copy of the bill?
I have it set up that the renter can call and switch the utilities in his name at move in time. When they move out I switch the utilities in my name. It's all done by phone. I just write it in the lease they must change the utilities in their name and show proof before move in. The date can be set at a future date so they will not be paying for utilities that they are not using
^^^You're answering the original poster from 2 years ago, I think. A new poster popped in.
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