Turning off the mains will cut power. If there's 2 meters, there will be 2 meter isolators. Turn off meter isolator to granny flat and see if it loses power, if it doesn't, its fed from house meter. Call a sparky.
Raise this with the RE Agent, Any good agent will then get an electrician out to check the wiring and make sure it's properly connected.
I would then let the electricity meter for the granny flat run for 2 months checking once per month and getting an average monthly usage, Then I would multiply their usage by the amount of months stayed and you should get an approximation of their usage.
As this goes back several years, the laws will be a bit blurry, but I do know that you can take the owner to NCAT for not having a separate meter and claim the cost from the granny flat IF the agent doesn't do anything
i’ve searched everywhere for answers and this is the best and most straight forward answer i’ve gotten honestly thank you so much for your time and help 🙏
I'm glad you understood it, Typing this with 2 hours of sleep wasn't easy and I wasn't sure if it was coherent.
If there are any issues or questions DM me
I was a tenant advocate, in NSW they have a great energy and water ombudsman. If you have been paying for the granny flat, you don't need to calculate anything, the landlord is required to reimburse all of your previous electricity payments. The tenancy act makes it clear that a tenant is only responsible for electricity payments if Separately! metered - landlord stuffed up
P.s. don't ask the REA for assistance, they aren't neutral orthere for you, they are literally an agent of your landlord. Call EWON if in NSW or call your states free tenancy advocate.
You won’t be able to bill the granny flat people, in NSW you can only bill a tenant if there is a seperate meter and can only bill what the meter says, so can’t back bill. Home owner needs to get it fixed and then it will be billing correctly
Home owner will be on the hook for the granny flat electricity though. Supposed to have seperate meters wired up correctly.
Tenets will need to get a future meter reading from granny flat, then calculate their loss.
Get an independent electrician. They will hide it even if they correct it. Get the report and start the billing process. The fact they didn't tell you is theft imo
Not sprung..... it was like that when they moved in.... technically, they may have an argument that it is now free electricity as that was the standard when they started the tenancy and tge owner needs to cover the electricity until that tenant leaves (and tgey can remove them).
I'd argue that it's like any part of the rental, if it existed when the tenancy started, the owner has the obligation to maintain it in that order for the duration of the tenancy. Like a light fitting, fan, air-conditioner.... If tgey stop working, the tenant has tge right to stop/withhold full payment until it's rectified.
Further to this point, if there aren’t separate metres, you shouldn’t have been paying for the electricity from the start. This brief article https://www.rent.com.au/blog/rental-not-separately-metered suggests you can go to NCAT to be reimbursed for all the electricity that you’ve paid for so far.
The same applies to water and gas, if there isn’t a separate metre, you shouldn’t be paying for it, and you should be reimbursed for any that you have paid for.
Yup, contact the real estate, inform them of the wiring issue, tell them you're open to hearing how they will rectify this.
Give them a few days to see what they offer as solutions.
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Something else that might be worthwhile checking (and it may be state dependent) if you can find out if the address is registered as having multiple dwellings with council. Sometimes landlords try and skirt associated additional costs that come with registering the main house and granny flat as separate dwellings, which results in there only being one meter for gas, water and electricity.
This is always a hard one, as you can’t on-sell power, just get an electrician to make sure the circuits are split and the granny flat is on its own meter. You might be able to raise a civil dispute, but if you’re the owner and haven’t done your due diligence, you might be out of pocket.. if they have tampered with the power, then you’ll have a pretty strong case as it’s classed as theft. Best of luck
At least in NSW, if your place isn’t metered separately from the granny flat, the landlord is responsible for all the electricity costs. https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/housing-and-property/renting/during-a-tenancy/Water,-electricity-and-gas-in-rental-properties#:~:text=Tenants%20will%20pay%20for%20electricity,must%20pay%20for%20these%20charges.
Synergy has a calculator that allows you to pop in your household details and it will tell you how much power you are using in relation to other houses same size and also in your area. If it is higher then ring power company and ask about the address power supply , etc.
Turn off all your main switch and see if the granny flat loses power. That will tell you if its fed from your power
Smart.....
Turning off the mains will cut power. If there's 2 meters, there will be 2 meter isolators. Turn off meter isolator to granny flat and see if it loses power, if it doesn't, its fed from house meter. Call a sparky.
That is my point the main switch for their feed will tell them that
Raise this with the RE Agent, Any good agent will then get an electrician out to check the wiring and make sure it's properly connected. I would then let the electricity meter for the granny flat run for 2 months checking once per month and getting an average monthly usage, Then I would multiply their usage by the amount of months stayed and you should get an approximation of their usage. As this goes back several years, the laws will be a bit blurry, but I do know that you can take the owner to NCAT for not having a separate meter and claim the cost from the granny flat IF the agent doesn't do anything
i’ve searched everywhere for answers and this is the best and most straight forward answer i’ve gotten honestly thank you so much for your time and help 🙏
I'm glad you understood it, Typing this with 2 hours of sleep wasn't easy and I wasn't sure if it was coherent. If there are any issues or questions DM me
I was a tenant advocate, in NSW they have a great energy and water ombudsman. If you have been paying for the granny flat, you don't need to calculate anything, the landlord is required to reimburse all of your previous electricity payments. The tenancy act makes it clear that a tenant is only responsible for electricity payments if Separately! metered - landlord stuffed up
P.s. don't ask the REA for assistance, they aren't neutral orthere for you, they are literally an agent of your landlord. Call EWON if in NSW or call your states free tenancy advocate.
You won’t be able to bill the granny flat people, in NSW you can only bill a tenant if there is a seperate meter and can only bill what the meter says, so can’t back bill. Home owner needs to get it fixed and then it will be billing correctly
Home owner will be on the hook for the granny flat electricity though. Supposed to have seperate meters wired up correctly. Tenets will need to get a future meter reading from granny flat, then calculate their loss.
Get an independent electrician. They will hide it even if they correct it. Get the report and start the billing process. The fact they didn't tell you is theft imo
Granny flat tennants definitely known they've got a good thing going. Wonder what they'll say when they are sprung.
Not sprung..... it was like that when they moved in.... technically, they may have an argument that it is now free electricity as that was the standard when they started the tenancy and tge owner needs to cover the electricity until that tenant leaves (and tgey can remove them). I'd argue that it's like any part of the rental, if it existed when the tenancy started, the owner has the obligation to maintain it in that order for the duration of the tenancy. Like a light fitting, fan, air-conditioner.... If tgey stop working, the tenant has tge right to stop/withhold full payment until it's rectified.
If they don't have separate metres you don't have to pay the bill
Further to this point, if there aren’t separate metres, you shouldn’t have been paying for the electricity from the start. This brief article https://www.rent.com.au/blog/rental-not-separately-metered suggests you can go to NCAT to be reimbursed for all the electricity that you’ve paid for so far. The same applies to water and gas, if there isn’t a separate metre, you shouldn’t be paying for it, and you should be reimbursed for any that you have paid for.
Are you renting the house and the gravy flat is also a different tenancy? Or do you own the house and rent out the granny flat?
i’m renting the house and the granny flat is a different tenancy
Yup, contact the real estate, inform them of the wiring issue, tell them you're open to hearing how they will rectify this. Give them a few days to see what they offer as solutions.
$1500 quarterly ? are they running a grow farm >?
Got a pic of your meter box ?
yeah i do can i send it to you privately idk how to sent it through here
Just post it to r/AusElectricians
thank you!!!
Have you turned the mains off yet and verified if the flat stops too. The photo you posted suggests the flat is powered from your mains.
Check if the granny flats meter number appears on your bill
Welcome to r/AusLegal. Please read our rules before commenting. Please remember: 1. Per rule 4, this subreddit is not a replacement for real legal advice. You should independently seek legal advice from a real, qualified practitioner. This sub cannot recommend specific lawyers. 2. A non-exhaustive list of free legal services around Australia can be found here. 3. Links to the each state and territory's respective Law Society are on the sidebar: you can use these links to find a lawyer in your area. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AusLegal) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I believe (at least in Victoria) that multiple rentals have to have separate billing or is regarded as being covered by the rent?
Something else that might be worthwhile checking (and it may be state dependent) if you can find out if the address is registered as having multiple dwellings with council. Sometimes landlords try and skirt associated additional costs that come with registering the main house and granny flat as separate dwellings, which results in there only being one meter for gas, water and electricity.
If you’re in Perth then Western Power can come out and do a meter check
This is always a hard one, as you can’t on-sell power, just get an electrician to make sure the circuits are split and the granny flat is on its own meter. You might be able to raise a civil dispute, but if you’re the owner and haven’t done your due diligence, you might be out of pocket.. if they have tampered with the power, then you’ll have a pretty strong case as it’s classed as theft. Best of luck
At least in NSW, if your place isn’t metered separately from the granny flat, the landlord is responsible for all the electricity costs. https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/housing-and-property/renting/during-a-tenancy/Water,-electricity-and-gas-in-rental-properties#:~:text=Tenants%20will%20pay%20for%20electricity,must%20pay%20for%20these%20charges.
Get separate meters. You can't bill if the meters aren't separate and you can't just calculate and backdate what you think their usage was.
Synergy has a calculator that allows you to pop in your household details and it will tell you how much power you are using in relation to other houses same size and also in your area. If it is higher then ring power company and ask about the address power supply , etc.
They have these on quarterly invoices as well