Landlord is trying to make me pay a water bill?

A lease agreement is a lease agreement isa lease agreement is a lease agreement. He can't legally force you to pay the bill. Am I to understand that you reported the leak? When will people understand that oral communication never accomplishes much. That can be denied. Letters, letters, letters. Everything in writing. All previous communication referenced in each letter, each time. If the first letter is not answered, the second should be Certified Mail, Return Receipt. The first Certified, is better. That gets the recipients attention. If you agreed to pay half, he's nuts for refusing. That's more than he should expect.

I believe that if you have a rolling contract, the terms and conditions are as per the original document. Go to a Citizens Advice Bureau...they will confirm it for you.

He knew about the leak and I am sure he knew it wasn't fixed right the first time. That is his responsibility. Move out and tell him to call your attorney if he wants to get stupid about it.

You got him. Now if you are not moving I would do like you said split it with him any lawer or judge would reside with you plane sense dictates that now explain in a nice way he is responsible for this bill then offer to pay hafe good luck DJ.

You definitely shouldn't have to pay for any water used before you signed the new lease, I would go and see the citizens advice bureau about the months since then. Surely your landlord should be liable for anything above your normal usage which was probably due to the leak.

One question - you did not say if you and the LL live on the same property, most LL's pay the water bill if their property is a duplex (side note: not all duplexes are attached by a wall, many are attached by the water line, and that is why the duplex applies). If there is a problem that you or your family members did not cause, technically you are not responsible. I am a homeowner and know how old my pipe are, as well as any other major work that would need to be done. Since you were not receiving the original water bill the LL had a duty to find out why the bill was so high in the first month, it was as simple as a phone call. It sounds like he is trying to recover some cost for fixing the pipes, not your problem. He is running a business and if the water had enter you unit he would have had to house your family in a habitability place (hotel/motel) out of pocket expense. I would not put the water bill in your name it there is a second unit on the property, you have no control of how long someone shower, baths, washes dishes, does laundry....not your responsibility. Look up tenant law in your state - CA has a tenant law handbook on PDF

Even IF a lease says a landlord will pay the water, if there is something such as a leak that is going on, and the tenant either caused it, failed to report it, or both...then the tenant can be held liable for it. A tenant has a responsibility in any State to report damage to the landlord. That said, it sounds like you actually did report it, or that it was not something you could have known about. If it were not in your residence, or in a crawl space, or area you do not have access too, this would fall out of that scope. If you knew about it, and did not report it, he can collect on it. If you did not know about, or you reported it as soon as you did, he must abide by the terms of the original lease, and the pattern of behavior established. That last part.."pattern of behavior"...that means that even if you had NEVER signed a lease, or even discussed the water bill, the fact that the landlord had been covering it for the lease term is enough to establish his responsibility. Another point of contention...did you immediately switch the water as soon as he told you? If you waited, he can charge you. If not, he cannot. I would tell him that you do not plan to pay it as it was not part of the contract. Be careful with this though...if your new lease is month-to-month, he CAN terminate your lease with only 30 days notice. If he threatens or starts an eviction action, talk to an attorney.

Citizens Advice.

You are responsible for the water bill after March, that's when he told you and you agreed to start paying for water. The high bill he received due to a leak in the bathroom was partially your fault for not notifying him. Running water in a commode can really add up.