Hello everyone
I have a couple of questions regarding billing from my Regie (Regie Brolliet).
This year at the end of May I received a bill (décompte de chauffage final) from them for heating and hot water or the period May 2014 to April 2015. It is basically the difference of the instalment that had been paid on a monthly basis and what was supposedly consumed during this period. (Note on the side: of course they have not yet managed to equip our building with double-glazed windows although legally required since January 2016 – which probably play a role in the over-consumption of heating & hot water).
I have read in other threats that it is quite common (though not sure legal) for regies to bill tenants quite a substantial amount of time later, but my case is a little bit different: I had a roommate until July 2015 (we were both on the contract), since then I am the sole tenant of the apartment. The regie insisted on issuing a new contract and I had to hand in all required documents again.
My question is now: can they charge me for costs that have occurred during that period when we lived in a flatshare, although legally that rental contract is not valid since July 2015? They wouldn’t do that if a different tenant had moved in, would they?
I am planning to contact ASLOCA but since the bill is due next week (and I probably won’t be able to get an appointment before), I wanted to hear your thoughts and experiences on this topic?
Has anyone had a similar experience? Many thanks in advance!
Svenja