sibling won't pay bills

[david thomas]

hi,
i am writing this message on behalf of my wife who owns a second property with her brother. this property is at the beach and both siblings stay at the property (separately) over christmas for 2 weeks at the most.

my wife's brother has recently lost his job and he is now saying that he cannot afford to pay the utility bills. he also says (ridiculously) that we stay at the property more than him so he has to pay less (but he makes no effort to calculate his reduced payment).

Anyway, essentially, my wife's brother does not pay the bills and my wife is stressed. please tell me what my options are in this situation.

i think they are: my wife should just pay for half the bills and wait for the electricity to be cut. but then we won't be able to go down the beach.
thanks,
david.

 

[sammy01]

so if it is just electricity? Can you get it connected just for the time your there? or are the connection / disconnection fees a problem?

My thought - offer to pay it all with an understanding the sibling pay when he gets a job. If you guys stay there more then maybe negotiate around that.
Short version, try and be reasonable as this isn't something you want to have to get solicitors involved in.

Do you rent the think out on Air bnb or some other site? maybe you should and use the rental income to pay bills etc and split the rest with the sibling.

 

[david thomas]

hi sammy01,
thanks for your response. it is a complicated situation that probably does not have a solution other than selling the property.

even before my brother in law lost his job, he played hardball and ignored my wife's messages about paying the bills on time. it's not just the electricity, it is all the bills. we now don't have an air conditioner because he does not want to pay for half. having said that he is happy for his son to holiday at the property at random times during the year.

he has got an attitude problem and seems to be annoyed that my wife has taken on the management role for their jointly owned house. having said that my wife is fairly officious.

david.

 

[Rod]

In what State is the property? If in Vic take the brother to VCAT for an order to pay, including air con.