My landlord charged me for the propane in the tank when I moved in, can I charge them when I move out?

[BBird]

I love in Colorado and I was wondering about propane charges. I've been looking and can't find any information about this. When I moved into my new place 5 years ago, my landlord charged me for the propane that they put into the tank because the previous tenant left it empty. I paid the landlord over $300.00 and kept the check copy of that payment. They have not paid any of my propane bills, I have paid them all myself since I have lived there. Now I have moved out and I put propane in before I left, can I charge the landlords for what was left? I took a picture of what the gauge said when I left to show how much I left in the tank. Thank you for your help.

 

[BBird]

I meant to say I live in Colorado.

 

[Zigner]

Negotiate

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

I put propane in before I left

Not your best move considering you got charged to refill it when you moved in.

What did your lease say, if anything, about propane?

 

[adjusterjack]

can I charge the landlords for what was left?

You can try but, unless you had a contractual arrangement to be reimbursed, I seriously doubt that the LL will reimburse you.

Agree with Zigner. Try to negotiate something.

 

[xylene]

What did your lease say about this issue? Did you have to leave the tank full or pay a penalty or something?

Honestly this works out to like 5 buck amortized over the course of your tenancy - maybe not worth it.

 

[BBird]

It didn't say anything about the propane not even that we had to pay it when we moved in.

 

[BBird]

No, no penalties. I feel they charged me when I moved in because they saw dollar signs. Nothing was put into the lease about propane. It was a very generic lease, probably one they printed off forms.com or something.

 

[BBird]

They told me nothing about what I have to do with the propane when I leave. I've been seeing that it is usually customary to leave it in the condition you received it, but what my issue about it is, is that I paid for the propane when I moved in. I just can't find anything about when that happens.

 

[Zigner]

You could have left with exactly what was there when you moved in. You chose to fill it. Negotiate...

 

[BBird]

Also, most of their tenants have left in the middle of the night, I have tried to do everything right on my part, oh and they still haven't given me an itemized receipt or my security deposit back either. They still technically have a week left to do that from what I've seen though. I just want to make sure of what they are allowed to do and not to do, since I've done everything I'm suppose to do legally. This was the only one I couldn't find information on. Thank you everyone.

 

[xylene]

I feel they charged me when I moved in because they saw dollar signs.

How did they make money on having the tank filled?

If propane is is not included in your rent (and it would be very odd for it to be for understandable reasons) then filling the tank was a conveince for you and depending on the weather protection for the property.

Why should your landlord pay for propane you used?

 

[Zigner]

Why should your landlord pay for propane you used?

I think the OP wants to be reimbursed for the fuel that was still in the tank when he left.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Not your best move considering you got charged to refill it when you moved in.

What did your lease say, if anything, about propane?

Considering the policy of some propane companies is to charge you an extra $100 fee to refill if you let it go significantly below 30%, and I don't think that they do partial fills, OP might not have had a choice.

 

[xylene]

I think the OP wants to be reimbursed for the fuel that was still in the tank when he left.

This is like buying the expensive prepaid gas in a rental car and not using very much of it and then wanting a reimbursement.