Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in New York

Hi. We rent an office suite in a building and we recently had another office move in several months ago. Our landlord recently gave us a copy of the electric bill, with many portions blacked out, so we can�t read what is written. The landlord is asking us to pay a significantly higher amount than we usually pay, and will not show us the actual bill, refusing to do so and only giving us access to the bill with the black outs. By law, if we are asked to pay a portion of the utility bill, are we in our rights to see what we are paying for? We feel that this increase, may be due to the move in of the other office and we feel it is not fair that we have to pay for their usage portion. I appreciate your help and feedback. Thank you.


Asked on 9/05/13, 1:13 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Lori Davis Final Eyez Lease Consultants

Lease language governs. Things I would look for in your lease to help you answer your questions are:

1. Do you pay a proportionate share of utility charges or are you submetered or separately metered? If proportioned, what is the calculation? Is the landlord calculating it correctly?

2. Do high use tenants have to have their utilities separately metered? Is the new tenant a high use tenant?

3. Do you have audit rights to look at your landlord's bills?

4. When the building was partially occupied was the bill grossed up to a certain percentage of occupancy?

5. What rights do you have to contest the charges? There's often a time limit. Make sure you document everything.

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Answered on 9/06/13, 7:24 am
Kevin Connolly Kevin J. Connolly

#1 question: is the landlord a kook?

#2 This sort of behavior does not pass the smell test.

#3 Test the rental market. You may need to pull out of this space. If the landlord is a thief or a kook, this is just the tip of the iceberg.

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Answered on 9/08/13, 3:03 am


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