WHO PAYS THE ELECTRICITY BILL BETWEEN THE LANDLORD AND TENANT- P. D. Pius, Esq.
You moved into a new apartment. There is an outstanding electricity bill of N600,000 or even 3 Million Naira. The Electricity Company or DisCo (formerly NEPA) is asking you to clear the bill before they connect light for your use in the apartment. Are they right? Come with me to find out.
It could also be your Landlord that is saying, look take care of all electricity bills. He doesn't care who accumulates it or the DisCo (formerly NEPA) is asking you as the Landlord to clear all the electricity bills because your former tenant left or ran away without clearing his bill. Do you want to know the position of the law on this? Keep reading.
There are 3 important instruments that determine who pays the electricity bill as follows:
1. Section 115(4) of the Electricity Act 2023;
2. Rule 29(3) of NERC Customer Protection Regulations 2023 and
3. Relevant Tenancy Agreement between Landlord and Tenant.
The provision of the first two instruments is simple. Electricity bill debt by previous occupiers of a premises shall in no circumstances be transferred to a new occupant of the premises. The DisCo (formerly NEPA) should look for the old tenant or old landlord to recover their money from him. They can't refuse to give you light because of debt by a former landlord or tenant.
Note however, that between present landlord and tenant, it is usually the tenant that will pay the electricity bill unless otherwise specified in the tenancy agreement between the parties. If you don't have tenancy agreement over your apartment, get a lawyer to get one.
I hope you find this useful. If you do, kindly share.
P. D. Pius & Associates
Abuja, Nigeria