Verified answer

He's an abusive jerk and you are absolutely right.  Do not pay for the 13 days before you moved in.  Figure out the daily amount and just pay for the days that month that you lived there.  You are under no obligation whatsoever to pay HIS late fee for what was not paid on time prior to when you lived there.  Tell him that if he can't drop it off earlier, to email it to you or send the bill by text.  You don't care "how" you get it but two days before gives you only one day to pay and may not even allow for processing.  Tell him that if he does not get it to you at least one full week before it is due, then he will have to pay any late fee.  Also, your financial difficulties are your problem, not his.  Your reasoning is unreasonable.  However, his dropping it off only two days before it is due is unreasonable, so stick to that as the issue.

Yes he should give it to you in a timely manner but there is no law that requires it. You can ask but you cannot make him do it.

What does your lease say about the water bill?  You & the landlord must abide by what the lease states on the subject.  If the lease does not specifically state you are responsible for the bill then he cannot make you pay any portion of it.  

You are correct that he cannot make you pay for the time period before you moved in. The problem is that you 2 clearly do not agree & the only way to resolve it would be in court. 

Update:

Nicole, you can do whatever you want with your life. I clearly said below you are going to have to learn how manage your own life. I could try to give you some advice, but you don't have to take it.

Update:

OP well you're going to have to learn how to mange your own life instead of wasting your time on yahoo answers reading answers given by ignorant children who have not lived life like myself. I have read what a lot of people said on yahoo answers. This forum may help you like it did with me, but I think the odds would probably be stacked up against you.

I think teenagers are allowed to participate on this forum, and I was once a teenager like them a long time ago. I am no longer a teenager. The answers that you receive may come from teenagers, or adults.

Update:

I am not interested in speaking with you, so go away SimplytheFACTS.

Update:

Simplythefacts stfu. I don't have anything to say to you.

Anyway OP just listen to me. Please ignore everyone else who posts something on this forum.

Please carefully read word per word what I wrote below.

I think it's more like tenant issues.

A tenant who DOES NOT own ANYTHING then does not have any say regarding the bigger bills. If you were to buy your own home then you can have the option of paying, for the bigger bills such as the water bill, and electric bill.

Currently I don't own my own home, so I can't take those bills, and pay, for it. However I am saving my money, so hopefully someday I can buy my own home, and at that point is when I can pay, for the water bill, and electric bill, and I might be paying, for other stuff too.

I think you are confused about whose house you are living in. Just because you are renting a house doesn't make it your house. You don't own the house, so it's not your house!!!

What I don't understand is if the water bill is in your landlord's name then why are you calling the water company. I assume you already know how much money you are paying rent. If you have a lease, for renting the house you are living in then what you owe should be on your lease, and if you don't have a lease, or what you owe is not on a lease then I don't know why someone is renting their house to you.

When someone moves in into a new home, he, or she should be starting from scratch. What I am trying to say is you should be charged, for what you use, and not, for what someone else used.

You don't have to pay anything that is not in your name, and that is not agreed upon in writing.

You said you live pay check to pay check. I think if you really wanted to then you could move into a 1 bedroom in a house. The rest of the money that you have should be saved up.

In about 1 year I saved up around ten thousand dollars, and I was living in a one bedroom in someone's house, and it was all inclusive. Currently I am living in a basement in someone else's house, and I am still saving money.

Lastly I think if you were to live in a 1 bedroom in a house then you should be able to save a lot of money. If you were to live in a basement like me then you should still be able to save, but I think you would be able to save less money than renting a 1 bedroom.

There is a difference between what I was paying, for to rent the 1 bedroom, and basement. It's only $25 dollars difference.

I was paying $475, for the 1 bedroom, and now I am paying $500 to rent an entire basement.

Just pay the portion that you owe and tell him this is what you are paying. I'd also ask him to call the water company (you can't do this since the bill isn't in your name) and have him ask the water company to mail copies of the bill to him and to you - the water company should have no problem with this.

FYI, water companies are very slow to turn off water because they almost always get paid eventually even the late fees but if they do turn it off you should be plenty of notice (or at least he should).  Also the water company frequently is the one that wants to keep the bill in the landlords name (its his responsibility not the tenants, even if they are the ones paying for it) but mailing a copy of the bill to you should not be a problem.

I don't understand the problem here you said you were able to call the water company so what prevents you from calling the water company every month at the end of the month and saying how much money do I owe you? You don't have to wait till the landlord gives you the bill. Send money can the water company go to the city hall and say here is my money your landlord cannot stop you from doing that. If your landlord won't accept that tell him to go to hell and move out.

The water bill goes to the person who OWNS the house, it's not the same as the electric and gas bill.

If you're having issues with him being late, understand that on each of the water bills it has the DATE it's being sent out, mark that date on the calendar and ask in advance for it when it's time the water company sends them out.

You KNOW it's coming due every 3 months, plan for it.

I think it depends on what the lease says.  Does it say "tenant shall reimburse landlord" or something like "tenant shall be responsible."  With the former he cannot wait for you to reimburse him.  He must pay the bill in a timely manner and if the water is shut off then that's constructive eviction and illegal.

Does your lease cover when he will show you the bill or give you a copy of it?  Essentially, did you get any of that in writing?

Also, are you able to look up the bill on your own?  The city I'm in anyone can look at a water bill or look at an estimate of previous bills at an address.

I actually understand (as a landlord myself) him wanting the bill in his name.  It can be harder to get the bill out of a previous tenants name, especially if they owe a balance and a bitter tenant can have the water turned off (if the water is in their name).

He clearly could handle this better but really this is a bill you knew would be coming, regardless of when it was due.  You could have set some aside for it.  Myself for items that are in my name, but the tenant pays I have it in the lease when I will give them a copy of it but most I just add it to their rent (meaning its including in their rent).

Talk to a lawyer. Do not seek legal advice on Y!A.

Legally if the bill is in his name he is required to pay it.

Either he bundles it with the rent or he removes his name from the water bill.

If the water gets shut off (be cause he has not paid the water bill) that is highly illegal and grounds to sue or cancel the lease.

Talk to a local lawyer for more detailed answers.

any past due amount on the bill should be withheld from the rent, if he complains tell him to remove his name from the water bill.