Landlord Question and Answer Forum
We had a tenant in the past who was supposed to have the utilities switched over to his name as soon as the lease agreement started. He knew this and refused to switch even though we called and reminded him many times over. Needless to say a while passed and it was never switched and we were stuck with a bill. This was many years ago but was wondering if there was a way to protect ourselves. I was thinking of putting something in our lease about switching over utilities. Is it possible to tell the tenants that they have 3 days from the beginning of the lease to put the utilities in their name or we will shut them off and it will be the tenant's responsibility to turn them back on? Is that legal to do?? Is there any way to protect ourselves from having to pay for tenant's utilities? Has anyone else had a similar situation and how did you remedy the situation? Thanks in advance!
Ray & Nicole W, IL on Tuesday, March 11, 2014
RE: Utilities
Yes you need to have in your lease that the tenant will put the utilities in their name within X days of move in. Some utility providers can back-date the start of the utility service for billing and the tenant can do that if the utility offers it. If they do not switch it over, you can let them know they are in violation of their lease agreement and are subject to eviction.
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