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Agency refused transfer heating account - threatening solicitors over unpaid bills
Hi everyone, looking for advice on a heating bill dispute with my managing agent.
The situation
I am a private tenant in London in a flat with a communal heating system. This is important to understand - with this type of communal heating system, tenants cannot simply call the billing company and ask for the account to be transferred into their name. The landlord or managing agent has to submit the transfer request on the tenant's behalf. Without them doing this, you have no access to the account, no ability to see bills, and no ability to make payments.
When I first moved in (Nov 2023) I had a housemate who had lived at the property for a long time. The heating account was already in their name and they managed it throughout the time we lived together. When they moved out and a new housemate moved in (Sept 2024), I needed the managing agent to submit a change request to the billing company to transfer the account into my name. This is the only way it can be done - the tenant has no ability to do it themselves.
Despite making repeated written requests over more than 14 months, the managing agent refused to submit this request. They explicitly refused in writing on multiple occasions and at one point told me the account would not be transferred until I paid old invoices - one of which predated my tenancy entirely. Throughout this entire period (which was also the entire period my previous housemate lived there), I had no access to the account, could not see any bills, and could not make any payments. The managing agent had full control of the account throughout.
They eventually instructed the billing company to issue one single catch-up bill covering the entire 14-month period - the first bill I had ever seen. Every reading in this bill is estimated despite remote metering infrastructure existing in the building.
The managing agent is now threatening solicitors and debt recovery, but the amount they are claiming is £400 more than what the billing company's own records show with no explanation for the difference. The bill covers a period when I was living with my previous housemate, a joint tenant (from Sept 2024 - Sept 2025) who has not been contacted about their equal share. The agency also has not returned their £1025 deposit, despite them making multiple requests. My tenancy is still active and my deposit is in a protected scheme.
My questions
The situation
I am a private tenant in London in a flat with a communal heating system. This is important to understand - with this type of communal heating system, tenants cannot simply call the billing company and ask for the account to be transferred into their name. The landlord or managing agent has to submit the transfer request on the tenant's behalf. Without them doing this, you have no access to the account, no ability to see bills, and no ability to make payments.
When I first moved in (Nov 2023) I had a housemate who had lived at the property for a long time. The heating account was already in their name and they managed it throughout the time we lived together. When they moved out and a new housemate moved in (Sept 2024), I needed the managing agent to submit a change request to the billing company to transfer the account into my name. This is the only way it can be done - the tenant has no ability to do it themselves.
Despite making repeated written requests over more than 14 months, the managing agent refused to submit this request. They explicitly refused in writing on multiple occasions and at one point told me the account would not be transferred until I paid old invoices - one of which predated my tenancy entirely. Throughout this entire period (which was also the entire period my previous housemate lived there), I had no access to the account, could not see any bills, and could not make any payments. The managing agent had full control of the account throughout.
They eventually instructed the billing company to issue one single catch-up bill covering the entire 14-month period - the first bill I had ever seen. Every reading in this bill is estimated despite remote metering infrastructure existing in the building.
The managing agent is now threatening solicitors and debt recovery, but the amount they are claiming is £400 more than what the billing company's own records show with no explanation for the difference. The bill covers a period when I was living with my previous housemate, a joint tenant (from Sept 2024 - Sept 2025) who has not been contacted about their equal share. The agency also has not returned their £1025 deposit, despite them making multiple requests. My tenancy is still active and my deposit is in a protected scheme.
My questions
- Given the managing agent refused to submit the account transfer request for over 14 months and the failure to bill was entirely their fault, does the Ofgem back-billing principle mean I am not liable for charges older than 12 months?
- Can they demand more than the billing company's own records show with no explanation?
- Can they pursue me for the full amount while ignoring the other named joint tenant's equal liability?
- Is 13 months of entirely estimated readings a breach of the Heat Network Metering and Billing Regulations 2014?
- What other legal rights do I have in this situation, what has the agency violated and how should I approach it?