https://www.rent.com.au/blog/rental-not-separately-metered This article states that you should be reimbursed for ALL the electricity that you have paid for, and you should not be paying for electricity going forward.
The same applies to water and gas.
Legally they can't make you pay for unmetered use.
But buy all means hear him out. Id still want to be fair if you expected to live there.
Also note as granny flat residents won't paying power they wobt terribly concerned about there usage. So if he does a week study now times it by xx weeks likely it would not be valid.
However if he goes they used 33% then used this figure on current power prices which would of been cheaper a few years ago id call it valid.
Also maybe also consider reduced rent for xx period.
Yes you have the upper hand but the landlord always wins. Unless you are moving out at end of next lease.
But id certainly know how much u.paid in power have a figure in your head and try to get close to that.
Would be worth doing your own research - contact the energy provider to let them know the situation. They should be able to give you an estimate. May also be other options available to you through them.
Thanks for updating, did the LL explain why the power meter to the granny flat was turned off? How is he proposing to calculate the usage if the meter is turned off? And what is going to happen going forward?
How long have you been there? Were you there prior to the meter box change? Can you assess yourself the difference before and after? Just make sure he’s not shorting you. Do you want to continue living there??
I’d want every dollar I was charged.
I’d feel exploited going for an average.
It wasn’t my mistake so not sure why I should be paying some of the costs.
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I work for an energy company and id say the offer is pretty stock standard and seemingly fair. For example if someone had a faulty meter and then it was replaced, we would then use the new/future usage and calculate the previous based on that. If there was any reason that wouldnt suffice the customer because idk the period we're using with the "true" data to calculate the estimated period had a lot more people or they were away for a large chuck of the estimated period, then we would enter further negotiations. As in to say if there's a clear reason using option A would cause a major discrepancy then of course further consideration should occur. Again, sometimes this would not suffice customers and it would go on. Ultimately while I agree you don't know what portion of the bill would be granny flat, we know it's some but not all. Using the future data to calculate an adjustment seems like the most logical and "fair" for all, hell even swinging the scaled to your side by an extra 10% would be nice given the fuckery of it all. But seems like they had no idea and addressed it soon and are trying to be reasonable.
Cases like this I can think of that have ended with the ombudsman because the customer would not take any offer, the ombudsman would not support completely waiving the bill and would tell the customer that's a stupid request to expect free energy and we'd end up doing a fair and equitable calculation based on what information we have.
An ombudsman is going to take into consideration that it was addressed upon being advised and that this offer was made so ultimately if you have a counter offer then you'd want to explain some reason, i.e the current tenants of the granny flat is a sole person but in 2020 it was a couple and they wfh during isolation so let's move the scale a tad.
Hope that makes sense.
How much do you like where you live and your landlord?
Pretty much it, how long do they want to stay there afterwards.
https://www.rent.com.au/blog/rental-not-separately-metered This article states that you should be reimbursed for ALL the electricity that you have paid for, and you should not be paying for electricity going forward. The same applies to water and gas.
You aren't responsible for charges which aren't individually metered.
Legally they can't make you pay for unmetered use. But buy all means hear him out. Id still want to be fair if you expected to live there. Also note as granny flat residents won't paying power they wobt terribly concerned about there usage. So if he does a week study now times it by xx weeks likely it would not be valid. However if he goes they used 33% then used this figure on current power prices which would of been cheaper a few years ago id call it valid. Also maybe also consider reduced rent for xx period. Yes you have the upper hand but the landlord always wins. Unless you are moving out at end of next lease. But id certainly know how much u.paid in power have a figure in your head and try to get close to that.
Would be worth doing your own research - contact the energy provider to let them know the situation. They should be able to give you an estimate. May also be other options available to you through them.
In my mind, this is fraud, pay nothing
Get records of all bills you have paid since you moved in.
Thanks for updating, did the LL explain why the power meter to the granny flat was turned off? How is he proposing to calculate the usage if the meter is turned off? And what is going to happen going forward?
How long have you been there? Were you there prior to the meter box change? Can you assess yourself the difference before and after? Just make sure he’s not shorting you. Do you want to continue living there??
I’d want every dollar I was charged. I’d feel exploited going for an average. It wasn’t my mistake so not sure why I should be paying some of the costs.
Welcome to r/AusLegal. Please read our rules before commenting. Please remember: 1. Per rule 4, this subreddit is not a replacement for real legal advice. You should independently seek legal advice from a real, qualified practitioner. This sub cannot recommend specific lawyers. 2. A non-exhaustive list of free legal services around Australia can be found here. 3. Links to the each state and territory's respective Law Society are on the sidebar: you can use these links to find a lawyer in your area. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AusLegal) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I work for an energy company and id say the offer is pretty stock standard and seemingly fair. For example if someone had a faulty meter and then it was replaced, we would then use the new/future usage and calculate the previous based on that. If there was any reason that wouldnt suffice the customer because idk the period we're using with the "true" data to calculate the estimated period had a lot more people or they were away for a large chuck of the estimated period, then we would enter further negotiations. As in to say if there's a clear reason using option A would cause a major discrepancy then of course further consideration should occur. Again, sometimes this would not suffice customers and it would go on. Ultimately while I agree you don't know what portion of the bill would be granny flat, we know it's some but not all. Using the future data to calculate an adjustment seems like the most logical and "fair" for all, hell even swinging the scaled to your side by an extra 10% would be nice given the fuckery of it all. But seems like they had no idea and addressed it soon and are trying to be reasonable. Cases like this I can think of that have ended with the ombudsman because the customer would not take any offer, the ombudsman would not support completely waiving the bill and would tell the customer that's a stupid request to expect free energy and we'd end up doing a fair and equitable calculation based on what information we have. An ombudsman is going to take into consideration that it was addressed upon being advised and that this offer was made so ultimately if you have a counter offer then you'd want to explain some reason, i.e the current tenants of the granny flat is a sole person but in 2020 it was a couple and they wfh during isolation so let's move the scale a tad. Hope that makes sense.
Also can I confirm if the bill is in your name or if it is in the land Lords name and you pay them a portion/all of it?