Can you be responsible for a utility bill that is not in your name,?
Can you be responsible for a utility bill that is not in your name, but from a landlord who kept us renting the place off the books? If your lease agreement, written or verbal, included a clause that obligated you to pay the utilities whether they're in your name or not, then you're legally obligated to pay them. If you fail to pay, the landlord can evict you for non-payment. If you don't pay and the person whose name IS on the account doesn't pay, the utilities can be turned off by the various companies. In that case, the unit becomes legally uninhabitable and you will have to move out immediately. Either way, if you don't pay the bill as agreed, you'll be out.