No Stay for Water Bill of Renter

[AngelinaCat]

I'm not certain that one can BK against a utility anyway. You still have to pay your utilities. In this case it's the water.

In our case it was the electric company. We paid our bill each month, and had to do it with cash, at a bill-pay place, because the company would not allow us to pay via Internet while we were in BK, nor would they accept a check. We also had a sizable deposit with them because we had fallen behind, and we had to pay the deposit to keep the electricity from being turned off. All of this was listed in the appropriate places in our paperwork. (We also had to purchase that deposit back from the BK estate, because it was considered an asset.)

[LadyInTheRed]

As the OP stated above, the bill is in the landlords name, and C/O to the renter. I doubt this is dischargable if billed that way. The OP should discuss with his/her attorney for the specifics for their area.

I agree that the bill isn't dischargeable and that the OP should talk to his attorney about this. While the OP may have no liability to the water company, my guess is that the Landlord can evict the tenant if the bill isn't paid. You could reject the lease and probably not be responsible to pay the pre-petition water bill, but then you'd probably be evicted. Again, check with your attorney because I am really just guessing.

[SMinGA2]

Sorry, I missed this originally.

You owe your landlord for the water bill, while the account w/ the water company is actually the landlord's responsibility. I don't know how it will play out if you're intending to assume the lease and keep living where you are. Depending on how your rental contract is set up, this is perhaps considered additional rent - that you need to reimburse to the landlord.

Bigger issue - why isn't the landlord paying the water bill?

The billing is like:
Landlord's name (Owner)
C/O My Name
My Address
My City, State, Zip

[keepsmiling]

I'd do what I could to keep my landlord happy if I wanted to continue living there. Just my .02.

[gdfox]

Sorry, I missed this originally.

You owe your landlord for the water bill, while the account w/ the water company is actually the landlord's responsibility. I don't know how it will play out if you're intending to assume the lease and keep living where you are. Depending on how your rental contract is set up, this is perhaps considered additional rent - that you need to reimburse to the landlord.

Bigger issue - why isn't the landlord paying the water bill?

I rent a house, so all the utilities are my responsibility.

[despritfreya]

The billing is like:
Landlord's name (Owner)
C/O My Name
My Address
My City, State, Zip

If you are named only "in care of" this tells me that the account IS NOT in your name. If you were a "responsible party" one would assume the bill would read:

Landlord name and/or your name

or

Landlord name
Your name

So, is this YOUR bill? Forget bk for the moment. . . If the account is not paid who can the utility provider legal sue?

Des.

[despritfreya]

I rent a house, so all the utilities are my responsibility.

Just saw this. The utilities may be your responsibility under the terms of your lease (which is a contract between you and the landlord) but the account may be solely the responsibility of the landlord. So, are you "in privy of contract" with the provider or simply an "agent" of the landlord?

Des.

[gdfox]

After talking with the Public Utilities Commission, in RI, the water is like a sewer bill. It is attached to the property. So, they are like the banksters, they can't lose. The bill follows the property.

[keepsmiling]

Ah. We have that too. And it's not supposed to get deducted like all the other taxes. That bugs me.
So whatcha gonna do? do you want to keep living there?

[gdfox]

Ah. We have that too. And it's not supposed to get deducted like all the other taxes. That bugs me.
So whatcha gonna do? do you want to keep living there?

I guess I am going to pay the bill. I really don't have a choice. Fortunately, it is under $200.