Water bill problem: Association dues?

[KurtVD]

3 hours ago, Old55 said:

I think you’ve answered your question. 

Well, I wasn’t gonna pay for it, unless it was normal in the Philippines that the tenant has to pay these fees. In this case, I probably would’ve paid them even though it isn’t specified in the contract, giving her the benefit of the doubt. That’s why I was asking for your opinions. So you were very helpful, thank you 😊 

[scott h]

Don't Pay it...……...BUT!!!

Don't expect any problems to be fixed in the mean time, be ready to move at a moments notice, don't leave anything unsecured, don't park a car on the street, don't let pets wander around. 

The only thing longer than the Mafias sense of insult is a Filipinos.

[Old55]

44 minutes ago, scott h said:

Don't Pay it...……...BUT!!!

Don't expect any problems to be fixed in the mean time, be ready to move at a moments notice, don't leave anything unsecured, don't park a car on the street, don't let pets wander around. 

The only thing longer than the Mafias sense of insult is a Filipinos.

Exactly.

[Dave Hounddriver]

9 hours ago, KurtVD said:

 . . . from what I can tell, she’s just trying, thinking that I’m a rich Swiss guy who won’t make a fuss about 500 Pesos...

My experience is different from JGF's.  I would estimate that the vast majority of members who rent in a subdivision or any place where there is are "association fees" are paying those fees in addition to the rent.  The alternative is for the landlord to up the fees to cover those costs so the tenants paying higher rents than their neighbors may already have that covered.

Anyway, my experience is that the tenant pays all the bills so from what I can tell, your landlady just neglected to write that in the lease.  In my case, as in yours, the association fees are paid with the water bill.  Try paying the water bill without paying the association fees and see if they cut your water off.  If they do not then just pay the water bill and tell them the landlord will "pay later" for the association fees.  A problem put off long enough is gonna be someone else's problem.

[hk blues]

6 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

My experience is different from JGF's.  I would estimate that the vast majority of members who rent in a subdivision or any place where there is are "association fees" are paying those fees in addition to the rent.  The alternative is for the landlord to up the fees to cover those costs so the tenants paying higher rents than their neighbors may already have that covered.

Anyway, my experience is that the tenant pays all the bills so from what I can tell, your landlady just neglected to write that in the lease.  In my case, as in yours, the association fees are paid with the water bill.  Try paying the water bill without paying the association fees and see if they cut your water off.  If they do not then just pay the water bill and tell them the landlord will "pay later" for the association fees.  A problem put off long enough is gonna be someone else's problem.

This is also my experience Dave - the HOA fees (if this is indeed what the OP is being asked to pay) are for the general maintenance and security and garbage collection of the sub-division and it seems reasonable that the tenant should pay IMO.  However, it is true that the Landlord should have detailed this in the contract.  Sure, the Landlord would not have a leg to stand on legally speaking but...

[KurtVD]

10 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

In my case, as in yours, the association fees are paid with the water bill

So, do you pay the association fees, even though nothing of the sort is stated in the lease?

[KurtVD]

1 minute ago, hk blues said:

it seems reasonable that the tenant should pay IMO.  However, it is true that the Landlord should have detailed this in the contract

In your case, is it stated in the lease? Reasonable or not, isn’t really the question, it’s more about what was the rent that was agreed upon. In my case, we agreed on 10k, plus water and electricity. If the owner wanted me to pay these 500 as well, I should have made aware of when we signed the lease, because now, the rent is 5% more than what I agreed to pay, and that’s just not right. 

[hk blues]

2 minutes ago, KurtVD said:

In your case, is it stated in the lease? Reasonable or not, isn’t really the question, it’s more about what was the rent that was agreed upon. In my case, we agreed on 10k, plus water and electricity. If the owner wanted me to pay these 500 as well, I should have made aware of when we signed the lease, because now, the rent is 5% more than what I agreed to pay, and that’s just not right. 

I don't rent but I know people who do and they seem to pay such fees from what I gather.  As to if this is mentioned in their contracts - I have no idea but that's not the issue here as we know your contract doesn't mention it.

As I said, legally your on solid ground but this is not Switzerland and do you really want to stand your ground?  If yes, then you might anticipate some issues in the future. Or perhaps not - who can say but that's the problem.

[Dave Hounddriver]

21 minutes ago, KurtVD said:

So, do you pay the association fees, even though nothing of the sort is stated in the lease?

If the association provides the water, and if they will cut it off if not paid, then yes.   If you can pay the water bill and tell the cashier not to include the association fees then you could try it.  It may cause more problems than it is worth so if you are asking me, personally, then I'd just pay it

[KurtVD]

11 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

If the association provides the water, and if they will cut it off if not paid, then yes.   If you can pay the water bill and tell the cashier not to include the association fees then you could try it.  It may cause more problems than it is worth so if you are asking me, personally, then I'd just pay it

You misunderstood my question, I was under the impression that you’re in a similar situation, and I wanted to know how you are handling it.

As for myself, I haven’t decided yet. Obviously, I could pay the bill just to make sure that the water doesn’t get cut off, and then deduct it from the rent, but I wouldn’t do that without her agreeing to it, I’m not looking for that kind of trouble. At the moment, i have quite a lot of leverage (I won’t go into that, but right now, the owner has asked me for a big favor, that I was about to grant), so it’s important that I play my cards right, without spoiling my relationship with her...it’s a tricky situation.