Tenant hasn't transferred utilities and is late paying me - help!

[Jessica Murray]

I let A__ move into the upstairs unit of a duplex in exchange for doing a years' worth of renovation work (which she did in the first two months). Even though her lease states that she was to get gas hooked up by October 17, she has not. She told me she needed some time to pay down her gas bill but promised to put it in her name "soon". I sent her the invoice for her unit in November and she paid within 2 days. 

Now it's coming up on the December bill getting due on January 5, I sent her the invoice and page from the bill with her unit on it on December 28, and she has not paid yet. 

The lease states that "nonpayment or disconnection for any other reason during the term of this lease is considered a violation of this lease agreement and shall be cause for eviction". 

What should I do? I sent her a reminder via Venmo and have drafted this email to send tomorrow morning:

This comes out of my account tomorrow. This is cutting it too close to comfort with the time needed for bank transfers from venmo or even a check deposit to go through.

Please get your gas transferred to your name for February, per your lease.

thanks,

What else should I do? I realize it's the holidays and she's probably financially tight (but with no rent to pay, not as tight as I am). Do I have legal recourse if she doesn't pay or doesn't get the gas transferred? I just want her to get this transferred to her name since I am anal about paying my bills on time and she obviously is not. I made a big mistake letting her move in with just a verbal agreement that she'd pay me back for the gas and connect it in her name "soon". I don't have her social # because she is a former coworker. 

[Greg Scott]

I know this feels like a terrible situation but in the scheme of things, you are very, very, very lucky.  It could have been much worse.   At least you have a rehabbed unit and have collected most of the funds owed you.

It is worth noting that your friend might not be able to get utilities in her name, if she has poor credit.  It may also be why she rented from you vs someone who does credit checks.

At this point, I think your best strategy is continued gentle pressing.   Because your lease traded work for rent, and she delivered on the work, an eviction is likely to be more complicated.   You would probably need to hire a lawyer and you are likely to lose much more than the cost of a utility bill or two.

You may also want to have a conversation with her to explain your situation.  Perhaps she could pay you something before the bill comes and true up afterward.

Good luck.