Full question:
I live in an apartment complex in Tustin,CA. I'm billed directly for gas and electric. A Utilities Billing Service gathers water, sewer and trash fees billed to the complex owner, prorates those fees according the number of units and sends me a bill. Recently, a new item identified as O.C. Sanitation District was added ($19) to the bill. There was no prior notice of this added charge and my lease makes no mention of third party billing. What are my options regarding this added fee?
- Category: Landlord Tenant
- Date:
- State: California
Answer:
It depends on the wording of the lease and whether of not the charge was a cost in existence at the time the lease what made. If this is a new charge that did not exist when the lease was made but was created later and you agreed to pay your share of similar changes the interpretation may be that your agreed by implication to pay for this charge. If it existed at the time the lease was made then the wording of the lease should control.This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
