"Balanced billing" for Utilities - Refund/Payment for Material Diff at end of lease?

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massa_megatron

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Below are portions of the lease in question:

"Rent per month: $xxx
Term (Months): 12
Commencement Date: August 1, 20xx
Termination Date: July 31, 20xx
SECURITY DEPOSIT (LAST FULL MONTH RENT): $xxx already on deposit with LANDLORD
PERMITTED USE: Private Residence"


"UTILITIES: Utilities include, but are not limited to, all cost & expenses for electricity, water, sewer, cable television, internet, pest control and yard & landscape services and will be due and payable by TENANT on a monthly basis in the same manner as Rent in the amount of $xxx per month, which is a balanced billing amount based upon a projected average to enable TENANT to budget accordingly. Should this amount change, TENANT will be promptly notified by LANDLORD."

"Tenant agrees to :
...
4. Pay monthly, in advance, no later than the end of the day on the first day of the month, the Monthly Rent and Utilities to LANDLORD at LANDLORD's Address.
5. Pay, as additional Rent, all other amounts due under this Residential Lease Agreement.
6. Pay a late charge of 5 percent of any Rent not received by LANDLORD by the tenth day after it is due.
7. Pay for all utility services used by TENANT and not provided by LANDLORD.
..."


This may not be possible to answer with this limited information, but there is no mention of rent and utilities being combined for a monthly lump sum amount in the lease. My "balanced billing" amount recently went up, which is obviously allowed per the lease, but I had a question for the landlord that he danced around and did not answer directly:

If, at the end of the lease, there is a material difference between the total balanced payments made, and the actual utilities incurred, could/is a refund/payment required?

The reason I took issue with the increase is because I thought it may not be justified.

Thanks in advance.

edit: This is a home with 4 tenants, each having a separate lease. Not sure if that matters.
 
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You make a good point. You would be entitled to a refund of any over payment just as the landlord would want you to pay the difference if there were to be an actual balance left above the "balanced payment." The problem is, say the lease ended, and the landlord was over paid. The landlord would have to split the difference evenly between all the roommates because it is impossible to figure out how much each roommate used. Should the landlord decide to to refund the extra, It would be hard to prove a case against him, not to mention, it wouldn't even be worth it for an amount that would end up being pretty small once split four ways. I would suggest that next go around, you find a place where the utilities are in your and/or your roommate's name. If it is just you, you know your paying the correct amount, and if you split it with roommates, you know the actual amount is being paid.

In the mean time, you and/or your roommates should be requesting a copy of the monthly utility bills. A long while back I had a landlord that covered the water bill and I paid the landlord back when I paid rent, much like you (the LL didn't want it switched out of his name). Difference is, the landlord I had sent me a copy of the bill before the beginning of each month where I was to be paying it. This also would give you proof should you end up in court, rather it be you suing the LL or the LL suing you.
 
I don't see how that would be a problem. If 4 roommates are paying the same "balanced billing" amount, then all of them would have overpaid by the same amount. Each roommate would receive a refund for the amount they paid over the term of the lease less 1/4 of the year's utilities incurred.

I actually did request a copy of the utility bills, but was denied. I was just told to reference the utilities section of my lease (quoted above) and told that I could just consider my rent $xxx which included utilities. To me, that seemed odd, because the LL cannot increase my rent amount during the lease, only the utilities monthly amount.
 
Do you feel like your LL is overcharging you? I must admit it is suspicious at best that they wont simply show copies of the bills so you have peace of mind. All I can suggest for you to do is if you think at the end of the lease that you overpaid, sue the LL. You will have a hard time winning because how can you prove this? I meant the problem is just that. If the LL isn't honest and does not return the difference, you will have to prove your case. Without copies of those bills, you have no evidence. Perhaps you can call the utility companies and ask if they can give you an idea of how much the usage is for your address on average.
 
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