Results 1 to 2 of 2
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Posts
    1

    Default Do I Have to Pay the Utility Bills if My Name is Not on the Bills

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

    Last August, I moved into a house with my roommate. We both signed separate leases. She had already been living there and I was moving in. My lease started August 1st. All of our electric, water, cable, and internet bills were in her name. From August-December, I had a TV in my room, but as of January, I no longer had a TV, but continued to contribute to the cable bill regardless. I felt like an intruder in that house for most of the lease as my roommate and I did not get along, so I hardly ever spent time at home.

    I was moving out and my new lease in my apartment was to start June 1st. My roommate, who had some odd thinking that she is the landlord, told me that our lease was ending May 26th. Unfortunately, I misplaced my copy of the lease, but found it odd that I would pay for an entire month's rent in May and have to move out several days prior to the end of the month. On May 9th, I contacted my landlord and told her the situation. She said that she would have to look at our leases to see when our leases end, but either way she did not have a problem with me staying until the end of the month.

    Around 5 PM on Saturday, May 26th, my roommate returns from the beach with her family and threatens me to have all my belongings out of the room by midnight as my lease is ending. She said that she would be changing the locks the next day and I would not be allowed in. She did not believe that I had a conversation with my landlord regarding me staying through May 31st and that if I did not pick up my belongings, she would have the locks changed and I would not have access to the house until she returned at the end of July to go back to school. I called my landlord and explained what was going on, but she is kind of a hands off person and simply sent a friendly phone call to my roommate saying to give me some time to move out.

    I ended up getting all my stuff out by Sunday just in case and she had the nerve to tell me that I still owed utility bills for the month. Mind you, I was out of the state for about 12 days during that month as well as hardly spending any time in the house in the first place. So what I ended up doing was sending her a check for 60 dollars less than what she expected of me (I took out $20 for the cable bill and pro-rated myself for the days that I was kicked out early from my rent). She was furious and called my parents and said that she's going to take it to court if she doesn't get her money. All the bills are in her name and we have no written agreement that we will be splitting the bills every month. It was just kind of like a common courtesy type thing.

    My question is, can she take me to court for the 60 dollars that I supposedly owe her? Even though I have been paying for the cable bill for the past 5 months without even having a tv in my room nor utilizing her tv in the living room. I know it's just 60 dollars, but I don't want to go satisfying a person who has made my life hell for the past 10 months.

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

    Default Re: Do I Have to Pay the Utility Bills if My Name is Not on the Bills

    I cannot see your lease from here, and I don't know what your prior arrangement was with your roommate. If by the terms of your lease you are to reimburse your roommate for half of the utilities, then that's what you agreed to do. If you simply agreed through an oral agreement or through the past practice of equally splitting the utility bills with your roommate, then that's what you agreed to do. You would have to tell us what your agreement was.

    1. Sponsored Links
       

Similar Threads

  1. Rent and Utilities: Who Pays Utility Bills
    By jre78 in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 12-27-2011, 12:20 AM
  2. Homeowners Associations: HOA Behind on Utility Bills
    By jlazanowski in forum Real Estate Ownership and Title
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 04-24-2009, 09:45 AM
  3. Utility Bills After Closing
    By SAMMYHOUSTON in forum Buying, Selling and Conveying Real Estate
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 08-28-2008, 07:10 PM
  4. Rent and Utilities: Splitting Utility Bills
    By trecole696 in forum Landlord-Tenant Law
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 08-17-2007, 08:22 AM
  5. Debt Collectors: SOL in Michigan for utility bills
    By pvc36 in forum Debts and Collections
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 03-26-2006, 09:33 AM
 
 
Sponsored Links

Legal Help, Information and Resources