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  1. #1
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    Default Water Service Problem in California

    I am renting a house. We signed a 1-year lease on Jan. 28, 2007, with the standard automatic conversion to month-to-month after a year. The lease says that the utilities are to be in my name. When I moved in, I got the gas and city utilities transferred. At the time, I did not know that we were not getting water service from the city, as was the case in our previous house.

    Last Thursday, we got a shut-off notice hung on the door from the Water District. We learned that the water service is in the owner's name, and he has been paying it for the past year. He did not pay it last month.

    We attempted to transfer the water service into our name, in accordance with the lease terms. However, the Water District is refusing to allow this. They are saying that due to past payment problems with former tenants, their policy is that the service MUST be in the owner's name.

    The property management company is telling us that we need to deal with the Water District. But we can't do anything because of the District's policy.

    What can we do about this?

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Water Service Problem in California

    They will probably accept payment from you to rectify the shut-off, even if they won't change the service to your name. Beyond that, start talking to your landlord about how he might resolve this, or at least ensure that the water bill is paid in the future.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Water Service Problem in California

    What you said is exactly what we did. The problem is that the property manager is telling us that it's OUR problem - that WE need to deal with the Water District. But the District is saying they can't do anything. That's where the legal dilemma comes in: the property manager won't do anything to resolve the problem. (And all I know about the owner is his name.)

    What can I do to get them to fix the problem? Or am I stuck with rushing to the Water District to pay every time I get a shut-off notice?

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Water Service Problem in California

    You need to work it out with the Water District or your landlord. We can't do either for you. Consider hiring a lawyer to send the landlord a nasty letter.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Water Service Problem in California

    I'm sorry - it appears I misunderstood the purpose of this forum.

    I was hoping for a bit more that "go hire a lawyer" or "work it out yourself" - maybe some pointers on HOW to work it out? Maybe a little help on exactly what the law is, and what obligations the landlord has in a matter like this?

    I suppose not..

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    Default Re: Water Service Problem in California

    Well, obviously the Water District is accepting your money.

    I don't know what obligations you think the LL has, he can't force the WD to put it in your name. You state that you are suppose to pay the utilities, but the WD won't allow you to put it in your name.

    If they are going to accept payment from you then the problem is solved.

  7. #7
    panther10758 Guest

    Default Re: Water Service Problem in California

    Quote Quoting tony23
    View Post
    I'm sorry - it appears I misunderstood the purpose of this forum.

    I was hoping for a bit more that "go hire a lawyer" or "work it out yourself" - maybe some pointers on HOW to work it out? Maybe a little help on exactly what the law is, and what obligations the landlord has in a matter like this?

    I suppose not..
    Read the quote below its at the bottom of every page and you were asked to read it when you joined if I am correct.

    Information provided in the forum is not intended to substitute for professional advice, including but not limited to professional legal advice. If you submit a question or comment it is assumed that you are interested in soliciting, receiving or giving general information and not legal advice. Laws vary by state, and the laws described in this forum may be different in your state or may have been changed since the information was posted. The legal help offered in this forum comes from volunteers who may not have any formal legal training or knowledge, and all information should be confirmed with a qualified legal professional. All information is made available on an "as is" basis. You should accept legal advice only from a licensed legal professional with whom you have an attorney-client relationship. Use of this forum is subject to the ExpertLaw terms of use.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Water Service Problem in California

    Quote Quoting tony23
    View Post
    I'm sorry - it appears I misunderstood the purpose of this forum.

    I was hoping for a bit more that "go hire a lawyer" or "work it out yourself" - maybe some pointers on HOW to work it out? Maybe a little help on exactly what the law is, and what obligations the landlord has in a matter like this?
    I seem to have left my magic wand in my other pants. So sorry.

    You are free to sue your landlord, although you will probably find that you need legal assistance. After all, you don't like to take initiative, and don't like to figure things out for yourself. As your claim isn't for money damages, you'll likely lose money in the process.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Water Service Problem in California

    Quote Quoting tony23
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    We attempted to transfer the water service into our name, in accordance with the lease terms. However, the Water District is refusing to allow this. They are saying that due to past payment problems with former tenants, their policy is that the service MUST be in the owner's name.

    What can we do about this?
    I'm a landlord renting out a single family house with a lease requiring tenants to pay the water bill. The bill is from the local "water district". And based on past experience with tenants not paying the bills, with the water district threatening to file leins on my property, and when I found out the tenants left a year before, I chose to have the bill in my name, and the bills mailed to me.

    In my case, I pay it, photcopy it, send it to the tenant, and have the tenant reimburse me. It's a solution you can propose to the managment company.

    There is a second solution.

    I owned a business where the "lessee" is responsible for water bills, but New York City insists the property owner is responsible for the bills.

    But the city does allow sending bills in this way:

    Joe Blow (owner)
    c/o John Doe (tenant)
    123 Mian street
    .....

    What happens is that I get the bill sent to me this way, and pay it directly, even though the bill is not in my name. It's OK with me, not so good for the owner because he would never know if I'm current on the bill till the city levies a lein on his property.

    In these cases the lease calls for the "tenant" to pay the bill, but for various reasons, cannot get the bill into his name.

    There's even a third way.

    In the business above, I also pay the "real estate taxes". But for some reason, I don't get statemente. But they are available online as public records.

    What I do is, I go online, find out how much it is, I make out a separate check to the Landlord, in the amount of the tax, and he in turn writes his own check. I then have proof I paid the tax.

    I did it this way because in the past, he would bill me requesting reimbursement of taxes paid, and I found that the taxes had come down from prior years due to his filing protests and appeals, and asked me for the higher amount from prior years, figuring I wouldn't know.

    I also heard of utility bills done this way.

    Someone I know wanted to have heating bills in his name, left in the tenants mailbox, to be paid directly by the tenant. The tenant said "no, the bill's got to be in his name".

    What my friend did was pay the bill, issue a separate invoice to the tenant, and then tack on a $10.00 service fee". Apparently, the tenant got a bill in his OWN NAME paying $10.00 for the privilege.

    Note, in all of the cases above, while the lease obligates the tenant to pay the bill, the bill IS NOT made out to the tenant. There are various ways to handle this WITHOUT having the bill IN YOUR NAME, or even mailed to you.

    It is also common for tenants to be responsible for utilities and other things.

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