Are renters responsible for the smart meter opt-out fee?
Posted December 5, 2013 12:25 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – With the deadline to opt out of the smart meter program having come and gone, the question remains as to who should pay that $35 a month fee for not having it.
Is it the renter or the landlord?
The meter goes with the home, according to Tom Durning of the Tenancy Rights Centre; he says it’s the landlords responsibility.
“I can’t see any landlord even attempting [to have the renter pay]. It would be silly,” he tells us.
Durning says if a renter has already paid the fee, there are ways to get the money back.
“They’ll have to file it in the Residential Tenancy Branch, spend an extra $50, and get an arbitrator to order that the landlord pay it. That way, it costs the landlord $85 and the $50 filing fee will get returned to the tenant.”
Sunday was the deadline to opt out of the program. BC Hydro has not yet provided News1130 with the number of people who have actually chosen not to have one installed.
