What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania
I've been renting a one bedroom row home for the past year. Approximately 2 months after I moved in, my landlord called me to say that the water usage/bill was higher that it had ever been for one month's usage. She inquired as to if I was using more water than I would normally use for that month. There is a washer/dryer that was left by the previous tenant and I had done more laundry than normal that month, but other than that there wasn't anything excessive. Subsiquent water bills were higher than normal as well, and the landlord began to charge me an additional $10 a month for the "high water usage" which was approx 4000 gallons per month.
Being that the $10 monthly wasn't THAT big a deal to me, I paid it. 2 weeks ago, I woke up to no hot water, and, upon inspection, the water heater showed signs of leakage. I contacted the landlord who immediately had someone come and replace the water heater. I spoke to the guy that replaced the water heater, and he specifically said that it had to have been leaking for at least the past year based on the amount of water that accumulated under the water heater.
It would seem that the "high water usage" was due to a faulty water heater. Upon further research, it seems that the leaking water heater also caused my electric bill to be higher as well. I just got another "invoice" from my landlord who wants the $10 for the previous month's water bill.
Am I correct that a)the landlord should have checked for a possible water leak in the house PRIOR to charging me for excess water usage? b)The "high water bill" was due to a faulty water heater and not actual usage, therefor, the money I paid to the landlord should be credited or returned?
I've been renting a one bedroom row home for the past year. Approximately 2 months after I moved in, my landlord called me to say that the water usage/bill was higher that it had ever been for one month's usage. She inquired as to if I was using more water than I would normally use for that month. There is a washer/dryer that was left by the previous tenant and I had done more laundry than normal that month, but other than that there wasn't anything excessive. Subsiquent water bills were higher than normal as well, and the landlord began to charge me an additional $10 a month for the "high water usage" which was approx 4000 gallons per month.
Being that the $10 monthly wasn't THAT big a deal to me, I paid it. 2 weeks ago, I woke up to no hot water, and, upon inspection, the water heater showed signs of leakage. I contacted the landlord who immediately had someone come and replace the water heater. I spoke to the guy that replaced the water heater, and he specifically said that it had to have been leaking for at least the past year based on the amount of water that accumulated under the water heater.
It would seem that the "high water usage" was due to a faulty water heater. Upon further research, it seems that the leaking water heater also caused my electric bill to be higher as well. I just got another "invoice" from my landlord who wants the $10 for the previous month's water bill.
Am I correct that a)the landlord should have checked for a possible water leak in the house PRIOR to charging me for excess water usage? b)The "high water bill" was due to a faulty water heater and not actual usage, therefor, the money I paid to the landlord should be credited or returned?