@UncleB wrote:I'm not sure if this will add any value to the OP's original question, but back in the 90s I worked for a large apartment complex and between tenants the responsibility for the power would be switched back to the property management - the power was not disconnected. This was done so that the apartments could be more comfortably viewed by prospective tenants, and also to prevent the unit refrigerators from going for days/weeks without power. The only time power was ever disconnected was when a unit was occupied and the tenant didn't pay their power bill.
A few days after a new tenant moved into a previously vacant unit, someone from the front office would call the power company to verify the tenant had transferred or established a new account for power in their own name, since otherwise the apartment complex would continue to be billed for their service.
I have no idea if a similar situation with the landlord led to the confusion this thread is concerning, but in any case an existing power bill is certainly not the responsibility of an incoming tenant.
Exactly! It's just never worked that way and, as I've said, I not only have my own personal experience as a tenant but I grew up with a grandmother who owned commercial and residential rental properties in SoCal, and I learned A LOT from her.
Your explanation about the apartment complex method makes a lot of sense. But the OP is dealing with a single-family home, so I'd dismissed that idea from the get-go, based on my experience and my grandmother's. With houses, it's not important to have lights on to show them (assuming it's daytime!), and if it's unfurnished (as all in my experience were), there is no refrigerator to keep running. Even if it's furnished, houses can sit empty for quite a while between tenants; to discourage squatting and/or hijacking power or water, it makes sense for the owner to shut off utilities.
