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Charges by apartment after move out

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mhernley

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Indiana

I moved out of my apartment complex on July 5th. When I moved out, I switched the utilities out of my name, because we were told to do so by the apartment complex. They now tell us that we need to pay the utilities until the end of our lease (mid August), which is fine. But they are also charging us $100 (75 for July and 25 for August) because the utility bills went to them and not us. They said I signed this when I moved out:

Utilities-

Please make arrangements to have the utilities that you are responsible for disconnected on your scheduled move out date. It is your responsibility to notify the utility companies for final billing and/or reading. All unpaid utility charges will be billed directly to you after your move out. You are responsible for utilities until the last day of your lease agreement or date vacated if after lease expiration. There will be a $75.00 penalty fee if utilities are taken out of the residents name prior to the scheduled move
out date in addition to the utility bill. _______ initial

Is it legal to charge this kind of fee the way that they did?
 


OHRoadwarrior

Senior Member
I suggest you read the agreement you posted. You must not have understood it.

All unpaid utility charges will be billed directly to you after your move out. You are responsible for utilities until the last day of your lease agreement or date vacated if after lease expiration.
 

mhernley

Junior Member
Yes, I understand that. I don't have a problem paying the utilities. I am asking if the fees they charged are legal or not. The way I read it is if I switched the utilities out BEFORE I moved out, then I would be charged fees. I didn't switch them out until AFTER I had moved out.
 

swalsh411

Senior Member
I don't believe any law would address this specific of a question. Have you explained to them that you followed the terms of the agreement? What was their response? What did they say when you asked them to show you why you should have to pay this fee?
 

OHRoadwarrior

Senior Member
I don't believe any law would address this specific of a question. Have you explained to them that you followed the terms of the agreement? What was their response? What did they say when you asked them to show you why you should have to pay this fee?
OP did not follow the terms of the agreement. Their lease was up in August. They shut off utilities prematurely and are now being billed for the time period they were supposed to have supplied utilities.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
OP did not follow the terms of the agreement. Their lease was up in August. They shut off utilities prematurely and are now being billed for the time period they were supposed to have supplied utilities.
I find this a bit quesitonable however. If the landlord was able to move in a new tenant immediately, or at least before the end of the previous tenant's lease period, it would become very murky.
 

BL

Senior Member
Is the $75 the penalty fee ?

If not why are the utilities even that high with the place empty ?
 

swalsh411

Senior Member
OP did not follow the terms of the agreement. Their lease was up in August. They shut off utilities prematurely and are now being billed for the time period they were supposed to have supplied utilities.
I don't think any Court would uphold such an agreement. It is entirely unreasonable that a renter not shut off utilities once they are no longer living there. What possible purpose would that serve? On the other hand, it is entirely prudent to shut them off so you are no longer financially responsible for them in case somebody else moves in and "forgets" to switch them.

How would the former renter know that somebody else hasn't moved in? Should they be expected to trust that any new tenant would switch them over? Should they be expected to drive by every day and make sure somebody isn't living there? Of course not. The sensible thing to do is turn them off when you move out, and any fee assessed by the landlord for doing that is unconscionable even if that was in the lease.

edit: The fee *may* be to reimburse the landlord for a reconnect fee they have to pay. But if that is the case then the landlord should have had them put the utilities in his name once his tenant vacates.
 
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