i think there's a lot of topics from previous years regarding runaway tenants and never paid electricity bills. i googled this topic and its everywhere on the net, newspaper but it never seem to be ending.

lots of measures advised by netizens and TNB itself to avoid future complications but how effective are they if owners are not getting any form of protection?

skipping the similar stories with the tenant running away without settling the utility bills, i was just informed that the outstanding TNB bill is RM32,000.00!!!! yes, THIRTY TWO fccking THOUSAND ringgit!!! and that's just TNB. i haven't found out how much SYABAS & IWK outstanding yet.

there's only RM6,000 for Utility Deposit. She didn't pay her rental for month of Aug and ran off early Sept.

Although she informed me she's closing shop & moving away, she never informed me she never settled the TNB bill. previously, TNB sends me sms as outstanding reminder and the amount is around RM6-7k. When i forward her the monthly sms and follow up with her, she gave me a story about faulty TNB meter and they replaced it and she already settle the outstanding bla bla bla (but nvr show me any proof of payments made)

if the figure is not crazy like RM30+ thousands, i wouldn't bother to hire laywer and pursue a legal case with her. but since the figure is so big, and she's no where to be found now (last i heard she flew off to Hong Kong) i'm gonna meet a lawyer next week to discuss next course of action. not confident of getting anything back at all but will definitely try. at least with a lawyer letter & a police report, i can go to TNB and nego with them.

i understand i have to settle that amount with TNB no matter what if i want to reconnect back the supply. and i'm not gonna wait for 2-3 years (if that) till this case is over before i can rent it out. i'm willing to settle it first, get it reconnected while at the same time, pursuing a legal case with the previous tenant. i heard from other owners there's a possibility i can nego an 'installment plan' with TNB since they know & understand its not owed by the owner and the previous tenant is now MIA.

why TNB never disconnect their supply even though deposit is only RM3000 (or something)?? well, its a wonder how our national electricity supply company works. for example, if i didn't pay TNB bill for 3months, by right, RED letter will be issued and power will be disconnected. 2 easy ways of getting by this:

A) reconnect it illegally & continue using it until TNB comes around again (which could be a few months or years)
B) before TNB disconnect, pay 1 month bill or pay partial bill. as i'm made to understand, as long as there's payment made, doesn't matter if its 10% or 50% of the outstanding, TNB can't disconnect your supply.

so if i'm those bad eggs tenant, every month i will pay only 30% of the total bill. remaining 70% will be brought forward month after month after month until tenancy expired and i'm leaving the premise. that way, i'm always enjoying discounted TNB supply. the last 3 months before i move out, i don't pay anything at all cos it takes 3 months before a RED letter is issued

same with water bill, one can do the exact same thing and SYABAS can't do nuts about it.

i also read online TNB advising owner to do a Change of Tenancy (CoT)e.g. register the account under tenant's name and not owner's name. i have a little doubt - even if its under tenant's name,
-he/she defaulted the payments and has left the premises.
-supply disconnected.
-owner found new tenant
can the new tenant apply for another CoT and TNB will reconnect supply even though the previous bills was not settled?

anyone with experience or success in pursuing a legal case? i'm not sure how much its gonna costs me but i have to do this. i have a photocopy of the previous tenant's IC though she may not be staying at that address.

is there any website where i report her as a bad fuuking tenant and should be avoided at all costs?

how to make tenants show me proof of payments for utility bills. i know its written in the tenancy agreement but most of the time they will say, "haiiyaa, i left the receipt at home...next month la i show you" is there any way to make this condition just as important as paying on/before 7th of every month?

is it possible to collect 2months rental as Utility Deposit (on top of the 2 months Security Deposit) rather than the standard 1 month?

is there any cons for registering the tenant's name in TNB account?? what does the law says about TNB account? must i provide the account first and they sign a CoT after?? (for new tenancy) or can i just tell the new tenant that they need to apply for TNB account on their own.

lengthy topic...thanks for reading; appreciate any feedback

I'm also very interested to know... Can we track the bill payment monthly online from TNB and Syabas??

Yes, there's a way to track your electric bills online. Register at the TNB e-services website. You can log in anytime to check the outstanding of your premise. Don't know about Syabas though.

Fuh Quite A lot Electric Bill....

what type of business?

Thanks for the head up. At least with the e-service can monitor the tenant's payment of the TNB bills.

i track my tenant's TNB bill online....

and i guess it's better to spend the time and effort collecting rental from the premise itself, or even asking the tenant to pass the utilities payment to you and you can settle for them ( that's what I do also).... it's tiring, it's hassle.... but it's something that gives you the peace of mind....

and of course....not leave you with a huge utility bill.....

just make a police report and ask for discount in TNB...then easily settle.
i think just pay the 6k...
simple as that, why so confuse?

It was 32k lah... Not 6k... Anyway, the owner will have no other choice if not, u can't re-rent it out without settling the TNB bill.

Just a question... Can we give instruction to TNB to cut off our electricity when it hit a certain limit?
Eg, ut maxis bill is limited to RM300 credit before they bar the line??

Can shop owner ask the tenant to apply the utilities account using their name? If anything happen, they are the one who take the responsibilities & not the the shop owner.

I want to tell a more epic incident that happen to me once,

I had a house rented out to a good tenant, he pays the rental and the utilities accordingly everyone, never missed, he passed me the bill during rental payment. After a period of time, as of other houses that were rented out, he decided to move out. So, he handed me the key, I went to the house on the next day. It's all in good condition. I am happy.

Then, I recorded the no. shown on the meter and I matched it with the one shown n the latest bill. My face turns blue. There are around 40,000 difference in (I am not sure what it is based on, it is the figure shown on your meter), I took out all previous bills and I found that TNB had been recording in 'E', estimated bill, for the last 3 years. I never took notice, nor did the tenant.

40,000 is estimated at RM6K to RM8K.

I check with TNB but did not informed them of the recorded no. and I found the truth, TNB reader is too lazy to look at the meter. So, I had a talk with the tenant, the tenant is not going to pay anymore (I still had the deposit of about RM3K)

Then,

I took matters into my own hand (Must be the 'hitam, hitam' ), and the matter was put to the rest. I keep the deposit and I did not need to pay TNB, the latest bill turns to 'N'.

I had to google to know that E bill is the estimated bill while N is the actual.

Now we know the reason why at times, in the newspapers, there are reports saying some consumers are billed up to RM20K to RM30K in electricity bills, and then these consumers start to complain to the political parties. Consumers should take it upon themselves to ensure meter readings are done correctly, and periodically, hence, minimising huge payments in a future time. 'E' readings can take place, but 'N' readings must come in after sometime.

We don't have much problems here in Penang, for we monitor our electricity readings consistently.

tnb is really hopeless, why monopoly???

Maybe no one is wiling to build a new electricity generator either hydro, wind, thermal or nuclear.

yes, for sure can..just bring an rent argeement to TNB and register n the tenant will get TNB bill using tenant name not an owner name..:-)

Reading your case, there is nothing much can be done about it. Most best is to nego with TNB.

I don't think this is the solution to the problem. Even if the account is under the tenant's name, the tenant can always pay 10% of the bill every month, and then the supply will still be in-connection. When the tenant moves out without settling the full amount, I believed TNB will still pursue the owner of the premises to settle the bill before reconnecting the supply to the premises.

The weakness is still there, the key reason being electricity supply is a necessity, and the liability is IMMOVABLE. Hence, TNB still has the upperhand in this matter.

The problem lies in the TNB ruling, this is the loophole. Frankly speaking, any non-owner in Msia can exploit this weakness too.

The tenant's name may be blacklisted in the TNB database, preventing him from applying for electricity supply, however, after the owner IS FORCED to pay-up to TNB, the tenant's name will be cleared again - so no issue.

I invite counter-opinions to my ideas above. I am looking for a solution to this problem too.

gila..

i think the best is to regular update the reading meter to tnb (if yr prop is non strata and meter is always hided). visit your house/factory/shop etc and report to tnb the actual reading and then monitor thru tnb e service if the tenant pay up. work is much easier for condo since tnb staff can read the actual reading and not estimate (E).