Tenant not paying utilities.

[tstall]

I have a tenant that has not paid her utilities for the last 2 months. Unfortunately I did not check to ensure the tenant put her name on the utilities and now I am getting the bill. She said she signed up and I never checked. Is this grounds for eviction or for turing off the utilities? She keeps saying she will sign up and pay me the previous amount, but has not yet.

The property is in Michigan.

Send her bills for the amounts of the utilities used and mark them "Due Immediately". Note on the bills that these "prior debts must be paid before any money is credited toward current rent". If she fails to pay the utility bills, use her next rent to pay the bills, give her a receipt that shows you credited the money on the utilities, then issue a Pay or Quit notice for the unpaid rent. You can then evict her for the unpaid rent. (I even include a notice to this effect in my rental agreements.)

If she pays up, give her a Perform or Quit notice to get those bills into her name immediately. If she has not complied by the time that notice expires, you may be able to evict on her failure to perform.