Q: Is it legal for 3 seperate dwellings to share an address and single family mailbox, or for 2 to share a gas meter?
I rent what used to be the garage of the main dwelling at my address. The gas company considers it the "shop" address, but its a 2 br house. There is also a shop behind my house that has been converted into a one bedroom bungalo. Three seperate dwellings but one mailbox, intended for a single family dwelling. The house in back is on our gas meter, however that is the only utility that knows or recognizes there is more than one residential dwelling on the property. We dont even have phone or cable outlets in the walls. Is there a limit to how many seperate dwellings can be the same address?
A: Given that a landlord is not legally required to provide any mailbox, you likely have no claim regarding sharing it. If you prefer, simply get a P.O. Box or private mailbox at one of the many places offering such options. The gas meter may be a different deal however. It depends upon what your written lease agreement says about it and how it may be billed. There are numerous requirements regarding shared utilities, the proper billing for them, and the information your landlord is obligated to provide you regarding any billing that he charges or re-bills to tenants for utilities. If you think you may have some violations of that, review it all with a local landlord-tenant attorney. If they think you have a landlord violation, it may be worth a month's rent, plus your court costs and attorney's fees to you.
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