Location: Michigan.
Roommate and I have a lease from may 10 to august 10 in a duplex house. Our landlord added a $216.09 charge to our account yesterday, july 19, with a due date of july 2nd and a $50 late fee. Landlord said this morning if payment is not received by end of day today, “services will be interrupted.” We do not believe we should have to pay a late fee and we want to know how our usage is being determined, given it’s a duplex and the other unit is responsible for some part of water usage. Landlord is refusing to provide this, saying only “refer to your lease payments are due today”twice now to our messages. What should we do?
Lease says “38. Heat and Cold and Hot Water
The Lessor agrees to provide the Lessee with heat and cold and hot water in sufficient quantities as may be required by law or ordinance during the term of the lease. If the Premises contains separate heating and/or cold and hot water fixtures, then the Lessor’s sole obligation shall be to provide the Lessee such fixtures in good operating condition at the commencement of the lease, and the Lessee shall be responsibility for the utility costs for the operation thereof.”
And “20. Utilities
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, if the Premises is separately metered for utilities, Lessee shall pay the utility company or authorized metering agency directly for all applicable charges for gas, electricity, water and other utilities serving the Premises, including but not limited to, telephone, internet, cable, and current used for electric heating, ventilation, air conditioning, hot water, as such charges become due and payable.
Prior to signing our lease, we asked for some clarification and have in writing from our landlord: “All utilities are included in the rent. There is a cap of $125 per month. If the electric and gas exceed that then tenants are responsible for the difference.” That does not mention water so not sure if it applies.
Please let me know if any more context or information is needed. We have had difficulties with this landlord already and have had other charges added to our account in the last few days totaling $694. I really don’t want this to go down a legal hole, I just want to solve this cleanly. Any help is appreciated.