Is this going to end up being the proverbial apartment from hell?
Asked by
ETpro (
34605
)
August 7th, 2010
I may have a legal problem brewing. It involves an apartment in a building that is otherwise condos. I have little knowledge of real-estate or condo law, and need some advice.
We rented our unit from the building owner 2 months ago. All the other units in the building are condos and have been sold to other residents here. The owner told me he ran the condo association. This week, I got a gas bill for the entire building. It was addressed to Occupant, Unit S1. I have no gas service in my unit (#1), but gas heat and hot water are supplied by the owner or so my lease states. The bill was $625 for about 3 month’s service.
As I was standing in the hall looking at the bill, the lady that lives upstairs from me came in and asked if it was from the gas company. When I said it was, she said it was meant for her. She went on to explain that the condo owners are in a legal dispute with the building owner (my landlord) because he had not payed the gas bills for more than a year. They took legal action to set up their own condo association when they received notice from the gas company of pending shut off this spring.
Where does this leave me? Presumably, part of my rent should be split out each month and added to the condo association fees to cover gas, maintenance of the common areas, and a rainy-day fund for repairs should the water heater go kaput or whatever. But if the building owner and condo association head (or former head) was pocketing association fees, he will certainly continue to do so with rents I pay to him. I’m guessing I should just pay him as usual and let the courts sort it out, but I would appreciate any advice anyone knowledgeable in condo law could give.
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19 Answers
The first thing I would do would be to contact the utility company that is billing you the $625 and find out why they think they are entitled to bill you for these services and for this amount. Whatever’s going on, you don’t want to just blow off a $625 utility bill. Until you figure out what’s going on and get it straightened out it won’t hurt to at least maintain communication with them.
Was your name on the gas bill?
@lillycoyote That I have already done. It seems the newly coined condo association set up the new account 3 months ago, but the utility company flubbed getting any name or unit number attached to it, so they just mailed the first bill on the new account to Occupant, #S1. The gas company is proceeding in court to recover the year of gas service previously unpaid by the property owner.
@Jeruba No, the bill was addresses to Occupant, #41 at this street address. There is no S1 but I live in unit 1 so apparently the postman must have decided it was intended for me.
@ETpro O.K., well, that kind of sucks. I’m still not clear on exactly what’s going on here, but if the utility company has already started court proceeding in order to recover this money then it is probably time to find yourself a lawyer. It really might not be all that expensive a proposition, to have a lawyer sort this out. If you’re not responsible for paying this gas bill, that should be pretty easy to sort out and it also might be good to make sure there’s not any other crap, waiting in the wings, because “the newly coined” condo association seems to have their heads up there asses, on it’s way to bite you in the ass. I’m all for doing it yourself, but there’s a lot of stuff that could go wrong here, and going over it with a lawyer might be worth it.
if your name was not on bill and the wrong apartment number was on it (not your apartment number) then just because the postman gave it to you does not mean it is intended for you.
@lillycoyote & @jca My concern is really not with the gas bill. I know I don’t owe the gas company any money, and now they know it as well. I am more concerned of what will happen to the property and whether somebody will pay the gas company. I do like hot sho9wers, and the cold months here get WAY too cold to live without heat.
if he does not provide with heat and hot water as stipulated in the lease, then you have the right to withhold the rent and he can get violations by the city or town, as well. you have rights as a tenant. if the apartment is not livable (cold and no hot water) then you can move out and he broke the lease by not providing those things. you would not be at fault, he would. for now, just pay your rent as you are obligated to do, and see what happens.
it does not pay to worry about things you have no control over, and may not happen anyway. what he does with the rent money is not for you to worry about. you live there, you pay it, he provides heat and hot water, relax and wait and see.
@jca That sounds like a well reasoned answer. Thanks.
i’m thinking along the same lines as @lillycoyote. would contact the gas company and put your unit, in your name! You are not involved in their mess. They own, you rent. Big difference.
@BoBo1946 I have already talked to the gas company. I can’t put my unit in my name, because there is only one meter for the entire building. None of the units individually even use gas. It’s only used to heat hot water in the summer, and also to fire a hot water boiler for steam heat in the winter. The only gas service is in the basement, and the service must be in the name of the condo association.
@ETpro wow…i’m lost on that one. Would call my attorney. I’m sure @jca is correct, but i’m sure you don’t want to move. Tried to do some internet research on this one, but could not find anything. Will keep looking.
@BoBo1946 Thanks. I’m in Massachusetts now. I did a fairly thorough Web search before asking here, and found nothing close to this specific problem.
oh…that long a** link i gave you is 16 attorneys that answer question on Condo Laws for free. Could be good…don’t know. if i find out anything…will get back with you.
@BoBo1946 I think if I am going to pay for an attorney to review it, I will spend a bit more and get one here locally familiar with local laws on Condos. That way if I do get dragged into the fight, I have someone retained who is already familiar with the situation.
@ETpro good luck my friend. Oh, did the owner advise you of this problem before you signed the lease agreement. I’m sure your attorney will cover that. There could be some serious liability on his part if he did not.
@BoBo1946 : i disagree. it’s not a problem. he pays rent, he gets the utilities that any renter should get. there’s no problem the LL should have advised him on. when there are no utilities provided, then there’s a problem. the renter pays the rent, who cares if LL pockets fees or not. renter has proof of what he paid. the entire building knows about the problem. the entire building is in on the problem since there’s only one meter. like i said, bill just went to @ETpro because the mailman did not know where to put the letter. it’s not @ETpro‘s responsibility nor is it @ETpro‘s problem.
@jca seems like the owner could clear all that up. Crazy deal..
@BoBo1946 No, no disclaimers. He siad and in the lease stated that heat and hot water are provided in consideration for the rent. But as @jca notes, so far, they have been. I don’t think it becomes a problem unless the gas is actually shut off.
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