Tenant left without paying Electricity Bill - advise please

ozankoys


Joined: 20/06/2008
Posts: 905

Message Posted:
04/12/2009 11:37

We had a tenant in an apartment & she vacated leaving approx 600 tl bill. The meter was in her name so I went in to Kibtek & asked them if we were responsible for the bill or if the liability stayed with her - they must of course be holding her deposit. They told me that we were not responsible it was her debt.

Now new tenants have been to get the meter put into their name but Kibtek told them they must also pay the outstanding bill!!

Anyone have any experience of this situation please?

Thanks Conni

Stewart


Joined: 19/07/2008
Posts: 1107

Message Posted:
04/12/2009 11:42

The outstanding bill will need to be cleared first.



Did you not take a deposit from the tenant to cover such eventuality?

ozankoys


Joined: 20/06/2008
Posts: 905

Message Posted:
04/12/2009 12:04

But why did Kibtek tell me the liability stayed with her? If they told me that it had to be paid I would have paid it straight away as it was 6 months ago & the bill has obviously increased with penalties. Yes of course we had a deposit but there was damage as well as unpaid rent so it did not cover everything.

sporty


Joined: 06/12/2007
Posts: 685

Message Posted:
04/12/2009 12:17

hi ozankoys,this is unfortunate but it happens from time to time,if you get a bad tenant theres not much you can do about it,even in the uk this happens.My advice would be,bite the bullet,pay the bill and sort the damage out yourself and just put it down to experience,otherwise it'll just eat at you,you could get one of those electric card meters installed that somebody on here was advertising,there are good tenants that look after the place and pay all their bills too,its luck of the draw.Perhaps you should have written into your rental agreement that copies of reciepts should be supplied to you on a regular basis so you know if they're racking up unpaid bills.In my view if you try to chase them for the money you will just end up with sleepless nights and more hassle.Pay the bill,wipe the slate clean and start again i say.

ozankoys


Joined: 20/06/2008
Posts: 905

Message Posted:
04/12/2009 12:19

Yes thank you sporty but I wanted to hear from people with experience at Kibtek!

kaiserphil


Joined: 14/12/2008
Posts: 1096

Message Posted:
04/12/2009 12:39

So what is the purpose of the Kibtek 'deposit'?

Blackpoolfan


Joined: 03/12/2008
Posts: 1568

Message Posted:
04/12/2009 12:46

ozankoys,

Had the same problem and Kibtek never informed me of the debt, they would not budge told me to pay or next week it would be more. I now have the meter in my name and charge tenants a £200 bond for utilitiess.

ozankoys


Joined: 20/06/2008
Posts: 905

Message Posted:
04/12/2009 12:50

But it is so bizarre (yes I know this is Cyprus & I shouldn't be suprised) that when I originally went in with the bill in her name & asked DO I HAVE TO PAY THIS they said NO YOU DON'T

elko2



Joined: 24/07/2007
Posts: 4400

Message Posted:
04/12/2009 13:02

The meter was in the name of the tenant, so it is the debt of the tenant. Unfortunately we see this malpractice by Kib-tek and the Municipalities for water charges all the time.

You give them a notice in writing to the effect that if they insist, you will pay the sum "under protest" and then sue them. In fact you can sue Kib-tek and the tenant jointly. Somebody has to teach them a lesson. Unfortunately even some of the judges (including the High court) are of the same mentality and they think that the owner is ultimately responsible (they think they are protecting the interests of the public administration by being more christian than the pope himself). For example Lefka Municipality has it in the bylaws that the owner is ultimately responsible for unpaid water charges. It is absolutely illegal and unconstitutional but you need someone with good strong teeth to bite into these problems. Sorry, this is Cyprus.

ismet

Jovial_John


Joined: 31/01/2009
Posts: 1024

Message Posted:
04/12/2009 13:05

Technically they are right - you needn't pay and they will never chase you for the money. But they won't transfer the meter to another name until the outstanding debt is cleared. You can leave the meter in the old tenant's name and just pay future charges. But they will not chase the tenant themselves and eventually, even if it's only when you sell the property, that debt will catch up with you - plus all the interest that has accrued in the meantime.

Further, the deposit will not be deducted from the outstanding amount and you will have to pay a new deposit in the new name. The old deposit will only be refunded upon presentation of the receipt issued when it was paid. So the old tenant, after you have settled the debt and paid a new deposit, can go and get their deposit back.



C'est La Vie

Brinsley


Joined: 04/04/2009
Posts: 6858

Message Posted:
04/12/2009 13:06

Find out where your ex tenant is now living then obliterate her using my .........................!



Richard

Geoff


Joined: 25/06/2008
Posts: 1370

Message Posted:
04/12/2009 14:07

I had the same problem in UK, with a tenant and NPOWER. NPOWER did NOT chase me for the tenant's debt, but neither would they put the meter in mine or another (new) tenant's name until the bill was paid. I finished up paying myself. Later I traced the old tenant, took him to Court (small claims) and won. He was ordered to pay me back the £400 at £10 a month as he was unemployed! Eventually he paid it off. My point is, here in N.Cyprus it is no different from (say) UK!!!

ozankoys


Joined: 20/06/2008
Posts: 905

Message Posted:
04/12/2009 14:35

So basically it would be cheaper to pay the outstanding debt & leave the meter in her name so that the new tenant does not have to pay another deposit?

ozankoys


Joined: 20/06/2008
Posts: 905

Message Posted:
04/12/2009 14:37

Thank you Elko for your advice I do not feel strong enough to go through the trauma of suing Kibtek though!

girne


Joined: 14/01/2009
Posts: 438

Message Posted:
04/12/2009 15:30

Had the same problem tenant left with a 700lira bill paid it my self in the end as had new tenants moving in.

They also did not pay their water b,ll so the deposit we held just about paid that so you can imagine how long that was not paid for. Now we ask for them to produce the paid bills receipt monthly when paying their rent so it this way we can keep a track on them and if they do not pay their bills for 2 months we either give then their notice or pull the fuse out!!!!

tarry67


Joined: 16/05/2008
Posts: 1053

Message Posted:
04/12/2009 16:06

Are the old tenents still living in Cyprus, as it would be an idea to name them, so that anyone else that has this person as a tenent could be made aware of the situation. Surely Kibtet could put a stop too her leaving the country as she has a debt to pay, as I know this has been done with speeding fines etc.

ozankoys


Joined: 20/06/2008
Posts: 905

Message Posted:
04/12/2009 16:33

Her name is Sevgi Karadayi & they also cut the ceiling roses off close to the ceiling!!