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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Posts
    2

    Default Turned in the Keys but Landlord Wants Me to Pay Electricity

    My question involves landlord-tenant law in the State of: Oregon

    I recently moved out of a rented house in Washington County, Oregon. I gave a written 30 day notice but was able to move out 3 weeks early. When I moved out, I turned in the keys and removed the gas and electrical service from my name. At the time that I was moving out the rental office had another renter lined up who was going to take over on June 1st but now that this has fallen through, the owner is telling the management company that I am responsible for the gas and electrical bills since I moved out. The thing that bothers me is that I have not been in control of those utilities since we moved out. When we left I had the A/C turned off and had set the water heater to vacation mode (The same state they were in when I moved in....). I am not sure what state they are in currently. If I have turned in the keys, and the landlord has accepted this am I liable and if I am still liable, should I demand the keys be returned and deny access to the home until I am no longer liable? Is this even feasible? Thanks for your help!

    Forgot to mention that this was a month-to-month agreement.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
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    Posts
    98,846

    Default Re: Turned in the Keys but Landlord Wants Me to Pay Electricity

    If your lease requires you to keep the utilities on through the end of your lease term, and your lease term ended three weeks after you moved out, then the lease required you to keep them on through the end of that three week period.

    If the lease does not require that you keep utilities on throughout the entire lease term, or facts you have not yet stated would support the argument that the landlord waived the requirement at the time you moved out, you can assert the terms or the lease or the alleged waiver as a defense to the landlord's claim.

    If you want to know what the amount of the utility bills is, ask your landlord.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: Turned in the Keys but Landlord Wants Me to Pay Electricity

    Thanks for the quick reply Mr. Knowitall.

    I'm not certain of the terms as I'm at work but hopefully learn more around Noon. If in fact I am responsible for the utilities even after my having vacated the home, I am still uncertain how to address the fact that I have not had access to the site nor had any control over them since I moved out. In my absence they may have turned the water heater back up, turned on the A/C, or done something else that could impact the usage of the gas and power.

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