Who needs showers anyway? Embrace the stink.

Let's be Spartan for a change!

No, just no

op should have been informed of clouded title prior, that being said, the prior owner or lessor could be liable for nondisclosure.

In Ireland, they are only now starting to charge us for water.

Show them your lease agreement?

It actually doesnt matter. They can shut off the service on a residence do to nonpayment on that property. It doesnt matter if of occupant or owner changed.

When I was looking for a place to live there was an apartment for rent that the previous residents still owed 2 months rent on. The landlord told me that if I moved in I'd have to pay rent for those 2 months along with payment for the current month on top of the deposit. Basically I said fuck that and he was out $2000.

#35, actually the company doesn't give a fuck who owes the money, the fact of the matter is someone has to pay up. When my roommate moved to a new apt and wanted AT&T for his TV/Internet he spent 3 months trying to set it up because the previous tenant moved out while owing 3 months back pay. The woman he went through even told him if a tenant dies while under contract a death certificate has to be scanned and sent to the provider.

You were absolutely right to tell him to fuck off, and he was absolutely wrong to ask for that.

But with a mechanics or construction lien its discharged (usually due to someone paying it) when the home is sold. it doesn't transfer to the new owner.

#50 a contractors lien you are not allowed by law to sell, remorgage or do anything else with the home til it is paid or a legal agreement is reached... that is why it will never be passed to a new home owners.

#50. A lean has to go on a property before it is sold. You can't add it afterwords as the new owner doesn't owe the debt. As to money remaining on the car, not the same thing. The loan company has a stake in the car until the loan is paid off. Their name is even on the title.
Now as to the water company. This is a totally different thing. This is a vital service and the new owner has rights. You won't die from a lack of TV. If they still won't hook you up, report them to the state. They hate that and try to avoid it at all cost

Go down there and show them who's boss then! You got this OP!

If you aren't getting that paid anytime soon better buy some of that dry shampoo and a whole lot of cologne

OP is female so (more likely) it would be perfume.

axe is universal

Or she could always buy a gym membership

It's easy enough to prove you aren't them. Show the water company the deed to the house in your name, if you purchased it, or your signed rental/lease agreement. It will involved actually going down to the water district offices but it's better than paying a bill you don't owe.

send the bill to the pervious owner?

Here's what you do. Don't shower. Then go to the water company office everyday all stinky and say you will keep coming back until they turn back the water.
OR! you could show them how you just moved there.
I'm afraid those are your only options.

Incorrect. Option 3 is pay someone else's bill

Option 4: Bus station showers

What about cooking and cleaning and toiletry requirements. Gonna go to the bus station everytime you need to take a piss?

I don't know how these things work in America but I can't imagine that you should be responsible for this. Legal documentation should sort it out one would think. Until then, wet wipes are better than nothing.

I'm pretty sure you'll have to pay the bill and then go after the previous owner (either nicely or with a lawyer) to get the money back from them.

In other words, you "bought" the debt with the house. It's yours now.

If anything else people are suggesting actually worked then people would be doing it ALL the time to get out of utility bills. (I sold my house to my wife for $1! My bills are gone!)

just what I was going to say. water bills stay with the building and not with the name. that's why most landlords put it in their names.

In Australia if you can prove you just moved in / bought the house, they put a mark against the previous occupants credit rating. You get a new account and start from scratch. Obviously bad credit means no utilities / credit in future.

Similar thing in my province. If you can prove you just took over the location, they have to turn your services back on right away and free of charge for the inconvenience caused upon you. They then proceed to track down the previous person through collections and get them to pay up (unless they move out of province... but they will have a nasty credit until that bill gets paid off wherever they go within the country).

Actually...you're wrong.

I've dealt with it God knows how many times as a property manager.

The water bill stays with the person under whose name it was opened. Not the property.

If the property goes under new ownership, the previous owner is responsible for the debt. Works the same with rental property. The bills stay with the previous tenant.

All OP has to do is go down there with the legal documentation showing that they are the new owner/tenant, the date the sale happened, and a copy of the bill to prove it's in the previous owner's name.

I've done it multiple times. Water utilities are almost always county or city run, so you're dealing with local government.

Head down to your local swimming pool they have showers there!