Share and Share alike

I came across this entry on "Shared Utilities" from the Realtygram Blogger



Here is the summary from her blog.

"the tenant called the gas company because he was concerned about...the gas furnace malfunctioning. The gas company inspected everything and noted that the furnace was fine, but that one of the radiators was located in the other half of the duplex. The tenant then demanded that the gas service be switched over to the landlord. The gas company... had no choice but to do this.

"[PA] statute provides that from the date of notice to the utility, the landlord is obligated to pay the utility bill and that the service cannot be thereafter metered in the name of any tenant until the foreign load is removed. ..the statute suggests that the utility may only pursue the landlord for the arrears on the utility, not the tenant. Therefore, the landlord was placed on the hook for not only for future gas bills under a yearly lease (preventing him from raising the rent to cover the extra costs at least for a year) but also the tenant's profligate use of the gas in the past. No remedy existed for the landlord against the tenant.

"As described above, this scenario is generally known as a "foreign load" problem. Tenants hear about this from time to time, and they will look for areas where, if they turn off their fuses/circuit breakers, common area lights (for instance) turn off. Then, they spring it on the landlord."

THESE LAWS MENTIONED APPLY TO PENNSYLVANIA! I HAVE NO IDEA IF NEW YORK STATE HAS SIMILAR LAWS. MY RECOMMENDATION IS TO CONSULT A LAWYER WHO IS EXPERIENCED IN THIS SUBJECT AND AREA OF YOUR CHOOSING.

Although this blog focuses on Pennsylvania real estate law, I do recommend it for its great articles and anyone interested in becoming a landlord should read through them. Some of the articles have helpful tips including this one on handling abandoned property.

I realize I am being rendundant about consulting a lawyer but I can't stress this enough. The laws play a critical role in determing the success or failure of your property. Ignorance or the inability to comprehend the law is no excuse and you will get laughed out of court if you use that as a defense.

A lawyer once told me that when you litigate that is when the lawyers have failed. Litigation is something you want to avoid as much as possible but it is a fact of life for landlords. But when it does happen you better know your rights and you better have put in the proper propection in your leases.