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I understand we have signed a lease...and that we are obligated to pay until either the end of the lease term or LL finds another tenant...
what I am not sure about is who pays the electric during that time.
Our LL would like us to turn over the keys...even though we will still be paying the rent so that he can fix it up for the next tenant...he would also like us to keep the electric in our names while he does that..
Is that right? Or should we terminate the electric and just pay the rent?
We have never been in this situation before...and do to circumstances beyond our control we must leave 3 months early...
No.. you don't need to keep the electric on unless that's the only heating source.
Electric service is a contract between you and the electric company. Tell landlord to put service in his/her name and contact the electric company to stop service in your name as of X date. Landlord usually have the account set up so that it revert back to them when tenant turn off service (this will save them a few $ for service transfer fee).
You need to turn in the keys, otherwise the landlord has every right to believe you have not relinquished control of the property, and therefore no obligation to try and find a new tenant.
Since you are breaking the lease early, continuing to pay the utilities seems like a negotiable issue, if you want the landlord to remain cooperative with you and do everything he can to find a replacement tenant. He has a legal obligation to do that anyway, but it could have a bearing on how hard he works at it if he feels you have done all you could to be cooperative. However, if you want to play hard ball and perhaps have a less cooperative landlord you can certainly insist on taking the utilities out of your name.
If you had left the lease at the end of the lease, the landlord would still have to fix up the place for new tenants and would have no right to think you should pay the utilities during that time. Keeping the utilities on this time of year is also essential to preventing freeze damage, broken water pipes and water damage. So if you decide to take the utilities out of your name be sure to notify the landlord ahead of time in writing so he can make sure the places is protected, otherwise you could be liable for damages.
You need to turn in the keys, otherwise the landlord has every right to believe you have not relinquished control of the property, and therefore no obligation to try and find a new tenant.
Since you are breaking the lease early, continuing to pay the utilities seems like a negotiable issue, if you want the landlord to remain cooperative with you and do everything he can to find a replacement tenant. He has a legal obligation to do that anyway, but it could have a bearing on how hard he works at it if he feels you have done all you could to be cooperative. However, if you want to play hard ball and perhaps have a less cooperative landlord you can certainly insist on taking the utilities out of your name.
If you had left the lease at the end of the lease, the landlord would still have to fix up the place for new tenants and would have no right to think you should pay the utilities during that time. Keeping the utilities on this time of year is also essential to preventing freeze damage, broken water pipes and water damage. So if you decide to take the utilities out of your name be sure to notify the landlord ahead of time in writing so he can make sure the places is protected, otherwise you could be liable for damages.
Bold above is what I am considering...but I also don't want a $100 utility bill for a place we are not at! The heat is steam and is not connected to the electric so the pipes would not be an issue. Our electric is only about $25month, so it is not unreasonable IF he doesn't run everything all time.
It is a sticky situation in which we are willing to keep our end of the bargain... just don't want to keep anymore than that!
I understand we have signed a lease...and that we are obligated to pay until either the end of the lease term or LL finds another tenant...
what I am not sure about is who pays the electric during that time.
Our LL would like us to turn over the keys...even though we will still be paying the rent so that he can fix it up for the next tenant...he would also like us to keep the electric in our names while he does that..
Is that right? Or should we terminate the electric and just pay the rent?
We have never been in this situation before...and do to circumstances beyond our control we must leave 3 months early...
thank you for your help
I recently went thru a similar situation. We "broke" our lease, after getting permission from the landlords due to issues with the house we were renting. While the issues didn't make it uninhabitable, the work to get them fixed would have essentially left us living in the living room and dining room so the LLs gave us the option to "void" the lease.
It worked for us cause we wanted to buy a house anyway.
So pretty much the deal we worked with them after we gave notice was we had to keep the utilities on in our names until Dec 31st.
Yeah, it made me mad too because we were paying for them while the LLs went in and did the work. But, in the long run it was better than paying rent and a mortgage payment until the found someone else.
I'd say pretty much a Win-Win.
Op, if you have a contract that says you pay for utilities until the lease is up, then you are the one who pays for the utilities until your lease is up.
If the lease is still in effect, it is to your benefit if the landlord finds a nice new tenant to take over the rental, you should be happy that he is trying to find a new tenant. He can not charge two different parties rent on the same apartment, so if he finds a new tenant, you are finished with your responsibilities.
It sounds like you have not returned the keys. That means you have not returned possession of the unit to the landlord. You are definitely paying for utilities before you return possession. You also might be paying for utilities until your notice period is up, even if the lease is over.
How about a little communication with your landlord? Do you want him to find a new tenant before the end of the lease, or do you wish to maintain possession so that you can go in and out? Make up your mind and talk to your landlord about it.
Op, if you have a contract that says you pay for utilities until the lease is up, then you are the one who pays for the utilities until your lease is up.
If the lease is still in effect, it is to your benefit if the landlord finds a nice new tenant to take over the rental, you should be happy that he is trying to find a new tenant. He can not charge two different parties rent on the same apartment, so if he finds a new tenant, you are finished with your responsibilities.
agreed! Which is why we went to him right away!
It sounds like you have not returned the keys. That means you have not returned possession of the unit to the landlord. You are definitely paying for utilities before you return possession. You also might be paying for utilities until your notice period is up, even if the lease is over.
We remain in the apt until the end of the month at which time we will do a final inspection with the landlord and turn over the keys. Since we have never been in this position before I went to him to find out what we should be doing to make it easier on both of us! I don't understand why we would pay for utilities when the lease is over...
How about a little communication with your landlord? Do you want him to find a new tenant before the end of the lease, or do you wish to maintain possession so that you can go in and out? Make up your mind and talk to your landlord about it.
Yes, that is how I discovered he wanted the keys and for us to keep paying the utilities.. again,having never been in this situation before I did not know if this was customary or not and did not want to get taken advantage of...we do not wish to take advantage of...nor to we wish to take advantage of!
You original question asks who pays for utilities before the lease is up. Your moving out early does not necessarily mean that the lease is "over"
If the lease has reached the end of the lease period, then, no, you don't pay utilities. But that wasn't your question. It's not unusual for a tenant that leaves early to still be responsible for utilities up until the time that a new tenant moves in and assumes the service.
What does your lease say?
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