eewillison
02-09-2006, 11:49 AM
I received a notice to vacate within 3 days if my electric balance was not paid in full. The electric company that "provides" electricity to my apartment complex is owned by Triangle Realty. They are basically supplying us with power from AEP, and then adding a premium on top of that and charging the tenants for it. Everyones bill on average is 30 to 60 higher a month here compared to IDENTICAL apartments who have AEP. The electric company "American Power and Light" state that they can evict for past due utilities, but the only reference to that in my Lease agreement is "Resident shall pay for the following utilities: Electric, Water & Sewage, Cable, Telephone"
Nowhere does it address the possibility of eviction, or what they would consider to be timely payment of utilities. The person at the electric company informed me that they had a 35 year contract with my apartment complex, and that they had an agreement with the complex to file an eviction against a tenant if the utilities were not paid on time.
This "agreement" is not mentioned in my lease, nor was I informed of it prior to signing my lease. I have called to check, and this electric company is not regulated by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Surely they are doing something illegal here?
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In Ohio, if what they are doing is not illegal, then it may well be very close to the line. If the arrangement regarding power is not specified in your lease agreement, then you should be free to connect to whatever utility you wish. You will also want to check your lease carefully for any documents which are included in your lease by reference (such as a rules and regulations page that is posted somewhere).
Even if your lease or some addendum to it does bind you on this matter, you may have a strong argument that the clause requiring you to go through them for power is a violation of Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.14, in that it's an unconscionable clause.
To learn more about your rights as a tenant in Ohio, you might wish to go to http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/book.html
Nowhere does it address the possibility of eviction, or what they would consider to be timely payment of utilities. The person at the electric company informed me that they had a 35 year contract with my apartment complex, and that they had an agreement with the complex to file an eviction against a tenant if the utilities were not paid on time.
This "agreement" is not mentioned in my lease, nor was I informed of it prior to signing my lease. I have called to check, and this electric company is not regulated by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. Surely they are doing something illegal here?
__________________________________________________ _______________
In Ohio, if what they are doing is not illegal, then it may well be very close to the line. If the arrangement regarding power is not specified in your lease agreement, then you should be free to connect to whatever utility you wish. You will also want to check your lease carefully for any documents which are included in your lease by reference (such as a rules and regulations page that is posted somewhere).
Even if your lease or some addendum to it does bind you on this matter, you may have a strong argument that the clause requiring you to go through them for power is a violation of Ohio Revised Code Section 5321.14, in that it's an unconscionable clause.
To learn more about your rights as a tenant in Ohio, you might wish to go to http://www.ohiolandlordtenant.com/book.html