Moved into a new rental where the water & power are shared with the property next door (the landlord owns both properties)
Is this normal/legal, and how is usage supposed to be fairly measured between tenants?
The landlord told me I’ll basically need to go over to the neighbour’s house, ask for a power reading, and then the neighbour pays me directly. I’ve genuinely never encountered a setup like this before, and none of it was explained to me before signing the tenancy agreement? This is only for the power, mind you. He didn’t even properly explain how the water usage is determined between both properties.
I wouldn’t mind this set up if the landlord bothered to explain things properly, or at least bother to collect all readings himself, but he expects me to sort it out with the neighbour on my own. I’m worried I’m going to end up paying more than I should.
On top of this, he’s also refusing to acknowledge the existing damage in the property. On the defects list I was given when I moved in, I added comments and photos documenting the current condition purely so everything is recorded in writing for when I eventually move out, not because I’m demanding repairs or complaining, but because I don’t want to be blamed or charged for pre-existing damage later.
But he got very emotional and defensive about it, saying he’s “never ever in his life” had someone make a “bad” report like that before and was SO shocked to see it. Meanwhile I’m just trying to objectively document the condition of the house like any normal tenant would? I noted areas where there were stains, marks, broken things etc.
(It’s also worth mentioning there are some issues that SHOULD be fixed, for example, rotting floorboard near bath tub and other things, but I’m not about to deal with asking for those things to be fixed, and risk being thrown out of this rental property and having no where to live. Thanks national for the no clause rental terminations!)
Anyway, I’ve rented many properties before and never dealt with this level of disorganisation or lack of transparency from a landlord, so I’m wondering if this is actually allowed or if I should be concerned?
I’m a solo mum already under a lot of stress, and this whole situation is so overwhelming. I have no family or friends in Auckland at all, and I’m honestly scared to bring any concerns up with the landlord because he’ll just reply in an angry/annoyed manner.
Dealing with postnatal depression as well as this has me feeling really down. I just want to live peacefully in a rental property, pay my rent on time and look after the place, but the landlord is making it hard to do so.
Can someone give me hope that there are awesome landlords in Auckland that actually look after their tenants? It all feels so bleak at the moment :(
EDIT: Power is in my name. I was wondering why it was SO high recently!