VIC: Abolishment of Gas and Electricity before demolition

Discussion in 'Development' started by Chadwick, 8th Jan, 2019.

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  1. Chadwick

    Chadwick Active Member

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    Melbourne
    Hi, seeking some advice on how to proceed.

    I have an investment property which is currently tenanted up until mid Feb19. I would like to start the gas/electricity abolishment process now as I understand it can take up to 20 working days, so that demolition can begin shortly after the tenants leave.

    Given both services are currently connected and billed to the tenant, do I need to complete the forms through their electricity/gas reseller? Can I complete this or will they need to? Or can I go straight to the meter asset owners (Jemena?)

    Anyone gone through a similar thing whom can point me in the right direction?
     
    Chadwick, 8th Jan, 2019
    #1
  2. StoneBridge

    StoneBridge Member

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    Hi, I did something similar some time ago. I remember having to wait until the tenants had vacated and paid all outstanding bills before I submitted the abolishment .

    Developing a site can be quite frustrating due to the often sequential nature of events. Lots of unnecessary waiting.
     
    StoneBridge, 8th Jan, 2019
    #2
  3. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    We had fun and games with our gas abolishment (Queensland). They refused to even put me in the queue until the tenants were gone. I was dealing with two different houses and two different companies, and one said I could get in the queue if it was in my name, so I put the account in my name and then was told that was wrong and I had to wait til the tenants were gone to even lodge a work order and get in the queue (20 working days from memory).

    We had a house raiser waiting to start, our slot booked based on the information from the gas company.

    I thought about telling the gas company the tenants were gone, but if they turned up to remove the meter and there was clearly someone living there, I risked being put back to the end of the queue and wasting even more time. Also, I didn't want to risk anything bad (leak, explosion?) happening with tenants in the house if I'd told the gas company had been told the house was empty.

    As soon as the work orders were raised and got to the the actual contractors, things happened much more smoothly and people were helpful. Gas and electricity companies were particularly unhelpful.

    Power and gas were both painful, disconnecting and reconnecting. Allow 20 business days and be surprised if you get lucky.

    On reconnection, the company lost our paperwork in the handover to the contractor and decided we'd have to go to the end of the queue again. Ombudsman decided otherwise. :D

    I'd been warned by several people to expect frustration and delays, and that is exactly what we got.

    To be honest, I'd wait until the tenants leave.
     
    wylie, 8th Jan, 2019
    #3
  4. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    At least you got what you asked for...
     
    Scott No Mates, 8th Jan, 2019
    #4
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  5. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    LOL... I didn't ask for frustration or delays. But I sure got them. It's all water under the bridge now.
     
    wylie, 8th Jan, 2019
    #5
  6. Hamish Blair

    Hamish Blair Well-Known Member

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    We had electricity cut off a week before we moved out. Whole family was Amish for a week!!
     
    Hamish Blair, 18th Jan, 2019
    #6
  7. JHC

    JHC Member

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    JHC, 20th Jan, 2019
    #7
  8. Keentolearn77

    Keentolearn77 Well-Known Member

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    Is there a way of pulling a rabbit out of a hat and getting your abolishment request fast tracked, ie: tacked onto another job that may be finished early in the area. anyone with a direct contact
     
    Keentolearn77, 11th Feb, 2019
    #8
  9. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    The only way I got some action was to bring in the Ombudsman (when they tried to put us back to the end of the queue because they lost the paperwork).
     
    wylie, 11th Feb, 2019
    #9
  10. Paul@PAS

    Paul@PAS Tax, Accounting + SMSF + All things Property Tax Business Plus Member

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    Its one of the costs of choosing to have a tenant until close to demo. I wouldnt attempt to turn off the tenants supply of services as you may find yourself with a cost of emergency re-connection and a costly lease dispute. A tribunal would frown on this.

    These agencies have processes that can be slow but murphys law says they will do in next day when it doesnt suit.
     
    Paul@PAS, 11th Feb, 2019
    #10