Am I responsible for utilities after I move out?

[McLoffs]

My wife and I vacated a rented house on Aug. 10. This arrangement was made with our landlord; our lease was up July 31 and they allowed us to stay a bit longer because we had bought a house and were waiting for it to close. We had paid rent through August, and were refunded a few days of rent because the landlord found new renters. We just got our deposit refund and I have a couple of questions.

First, they're saying the 14-day clock starts running at the end of the month, not when we vacated; isn't this at odds with Washington law?

Also, they're trying to charge us for utilities after we vacated until the house was rented again. Am I correct that these aren't our responsibility?

Thank you for your help.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

What 14 day clock?

If the utilities you are being charged for cover the time you lived in the place, they are your responsibility. Utility companies rarely send out the final bill on the day you vacate. There's often a "lag time".

For example, I had new tenants move in September 1st and have their power switched over into their name September 2; I just received my final bill from the power company yesterday.

Gail

 

[McLoffs]

Sorry about the 14-day clock reference; I forgot to put the first part about that. Washington law states landlords have 14 days after a tenant moves out to send the deposit refund and documentation. I interpreted this as 14 days after Aug. 10; our landlord is saying it's 14 days after the end of August since we paid rent for the entire month.

I contacted our utility companies the day we vacated, asked for final bills as of that date and paid them. The landlord is trying to bill us for utilities after that until the new tenants moved in Aug. 26.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

You are correct; according to the attached, the requirement regarding security deposit return/documentation on what was kept begins after the former tenant has vacated the premises:

http://www.wsba.org/media/publications/pamphlets/landlord-tenant.htm

Sounds like you've also covered all of your utilities from the day you moved out.

Where does all of this stand in terms of notifying the former landlords of the status of your concerns?

Gail

 

[McLoffs]

Thanks for your help. We got our paperwork yesterday and I wanted to make sure all of my ducks were in a row before calling the landlord. They've been pretty reasonable in the past, so I'm assuming getting this dealt with won't be too much hassle. We shall see.