Posted by Johnny on October 01, 2009 at 17:13:35:
In Reply to: Advice Landlord/Previous Tenant posted by Shawand on May 12, 2009 at 21:22:02:
This one could be tricky. Most likely your lease only says the tenant was responsible for the gas bills and says nothing about a requirement to keep it on or pay for any related damages. If that's that case the best you can do is argue that the inspection fee is a damage related to their not keeping the gas on. Unless a person could reasonably expect that turning the gas off could result in damage or expense to the property you would likely be out of luck in a court of law. You cannot force someone to purchase or pay for something unless its a contractual or lawful obligation. Not using gas could would probably be seen as the tenant's right. Of course in the end power tends to go to the person holding the cash. You can always hold back the fee amount and hope they do not sue.