Sometimes, there are these feelings that come with renting a new apartment, especially if you have longed for it for a while or you are in a hurry to change an apartment, which often makes some new tenants forget to check some important things, including checking prepaid meter status. Some people, when they are packing into a new apartment, their sole interest is just to check if there is light in that building; once there is light, they don’t bother with the prepaid meter status.
If you rent a house with a prepaid meter, it is always important to check the prepaid meter status to enable you to avoid paying for electricity you don’t consume. Apart from checking if there are outstanding bills on a prepaid meter, there are other important things that you should also check when renting a house with a prepaid meter.
Checking a prepaid meter in a house before renting will save you from many things as a tenant, including paying for electricity you didn’t consume and even legal litigation.
What Every Tenant Should Check Before Renting a House with Prepaid Meter
As we noted in the introduction, there are many things you should look out for when renting a house with a prepaid meter. Some of those things are detailed below:
1. Check for Any Outstanding Bills on the Prepaid Meter
The first thing that you should check before renting a house with a prepaid meter is outstanding bills.
Some prepaid meters allow users to borrow credit units when their electricity units finish. This means that it is possible that some tenants, when they want to pack out from a house, can decide to borrow credit units without repaying them.
So to avoid paying for electricity you don’t consume, you should check if there are outstanding bills on the prepaid meter from the previous occupant. You can do this by reaching out to the electricity provider covering that area and requesting the electricity bill status of your proposed new house’s prepaid meter. Alternatively, you can also check the prepaid meter balance, and if the balance is showing negative, then it means that there are outstanding bills on the prepaid meter.
2. Check the Functionality of the Prepaid Meter
Another important thing that you should check before renting a house with a prepaid meter is the functionality of the meter.
You should check the prepaid meter thoroughly to ensure that it is functioning optimally, supplies light adequately, has no disconnection, and tracks all energy consumption. Don’t forget to get the meter keypad too; click on all the buttons to ensure that they are functional.
3. Check if there are any existing Penalties in the prepaid meter
Some tenants are not always aware that some prepaid meters may have existing penalties. If you want to rent a house with a prepaid meter, check thoroughly to ensure that there are no existing penalties in the meter.
If the previous occupants of a house bypass a prepaid meter, the energy provider may penalise them for that. If the previous tenants don’t pay the penalty, the new tenants inherit it.
In fact, if the meter bypass is severe, it may attract both financial penalty and imprisonment. So, it is very important for you to check and be sure that there are no existing penalties in the prepaid meter in the new house you want to rent.
You can check this by reaching out to electricity providers that are in charge of that area, or better yet, you can ask existing tenants within the neighbourhood about the light status of that area, including the prepaid meters.
4. Check the Prepaid Meter Recharge and Reading History
While this is not a must, it is also necessary. Before renting a house with a prepaid meter, you should check the recharge and reading history of the meter to ensure that it has been consistent without discrepancy.
You can request the prepaid meter recharge and reading history from the property owner or the previous occupant. Once you get it, check the recharge history and energy usage pattern to ensure that they are consistent. If there is any form of discrepancy, then you seek clarity from the property owner.
Conclusion
As a tenant, before moving into a new house with a prepaid meter, you should check for any outstanding bills on the prepaid meter, check the functionality of the prepaid meter, and check if there are any existing penalties in the meter and don’t forget to also check the prepaid meter recharge and reading history. Once you check all these things properly, it will save you from paying for energy you didn’t consume and legal litigations that occur when you rent a house with existing penalties in the prepaid meter.