Residential Tenancy
(Supply of Services) (Jersey) Order 2013
1 Interpretation
In this Order –
“re-supplied service” means a service –
(a) for
which the tenant is liable to pay, in addition to paying rent under the
residential tenancy; and
(b) for
which the tenant is not charged directly by the service provider;
“reseller” means the person who charges the tenant for a
re-supplied service;
“service” means electricity, gas, water, drainage or any
other service supplied under or in relation to a residential tenancy or in a
residential unit that is subject to a residential tenancy;
“service provider” means the person supplying the
service that is re-supplied to the tenant.
2 Charge
for re-supplied service
(1) Where the consumption
of a re-supplied service by the occupants of a residential unit is recorded by
a meter, the amount charged by the reseller to the tenant of the unit for that
consumption shall not exceed the amount charged by the service provider for
that consumption.
(2) Where the consumption
of a re-supplied service by the occupants of a residential unit is not recorded
by a meter the reseller –
(a) shall
use his or her best endeavours to estimate the amount of that consumption; and
(b) shall
charge the tenant for the re-supplied service, at the rate for consumption
charged by the service provider, for the estimated amount of that consumption.
(3) When charging a tenant
for a re-supplied service as required by paragraph (2) the reseller shall
also inform the tenant of –
(a) the
rate for consumption used to determine the amount of the charge; and
(b) the
reseller’s estimate of the amount of the occupant’s consumption of
the service, and how that estimate was made.
(4) Where the supply of a
re-supplied service to the occupants of a residential unit is subject to a
standing charge charged by the service provider, and the standing charge is
solely attributable to the consumption of the occupants of that unit, the
amount charged by the reseller to the tenant of the unit as a standing charge
shall not exceed the standing charge charged by the service provider.
(5) Where the supply of a
re-supplied service to the occupants of a residential unit is subject to a
standing charge charged by the service provider that is attributable to consumption
by the occupants and other persons or parts of the building, the
reseller –
(a) shall
use his or her best endeavours to apportion the liability for the standing
charge fairly between the tenant of the unit and the other occupants or persons
or parts of the building; and
(b) shall
charge the tenant for that portion of the standing charge charged by the
service provider.
(6) When charging a tenant
for a portion of a standing charge as required by paragraph (5) the
reseller shall also inform the tenant of –
(a) the
amount of the standing charge; and
(b) how
the reseller apportioned liability for it between the tenant and other
occupants or persons and parts of the building.
(7) If the service provider
of a service does not charge a standing charge, the reseller shall not charge
the tenant a standing charge.
(8) Where 2 or more tenants
are, in accordance with the terms of their tenancy agreements, liable to
contribute to the costs of the supply of a service to or for a communal area in
a building or to or for any other amenity, the aggregate of the amounts
recovered by the reseller from them by way of contribution to the cost of the
supply for that area or amenity for any period shall not exceed the actual cost
of the supply charged by the service provider.
(9) The aggregate of the
amounts charged for a re-supplied service by a reseller to tenants and other
persons must not exceed the actual amount charged to the reseller for that
service.
3 Overpayments
by tenants
A reseller who collects from a tenant an amount in excess of that
which the reseller is, under Article 2, entitled to charge to the tenant
must refund the excess within 14 days of collecting it.
4 Right
to copy of charges
(1) A tenant may, in
writing, request that the reseller provide the tenant with a copy of any
account that the reseller is liable to pay for a service that the reseller has
re-supplied to the tenant and charged the tenant for.
(2) A reseller shall comply
with a request under paragraph (1) within 7 days.
5 Offences
(1) A reseller who
contravenes Article 2 or 3 is guilty of an offence and liable to a fine of
level 3 on the standard scale.
(2) It shall be a defence
for a reseller who contravenes Article 2(1), (4), (8) or (9) that the
excess was –
(a) charged
in error; and
(b) refunded
within the period required by Article 3 or, if the reseller does not
become aware of the error until after the expiry of that period, as soon as
possible after the reseller becomes aware of the error.
(3) A reseller who, without
reasonable excuse, contravenes Article 4(2) is guilty of an offence and
liable to a fine of level 3 on the standard scale.
6 Citation
This Order may be cited as the Residential Tenancy (Supply of
Services) (Jersey) Order 2013.