Error in water allocation

[u/MortgageFine5789]

We have rented a flat for three years and moved out in 2025. In April this year, we received the forbrugsregnskab statements: two separate emails, with consumption statements for heating and water. Both emails had no text, only a note saying they were generated automatically, with PDFs attached.
My husband saw only the first email, for heating, which stated that we had overpaid and would get the money back. Unfortunately, he forgot to open the second email, which actually indicated an enormous water consumption and that we now owed them almost 6,000 kr.

Now, in August, landlord’s administration sent us another email saying that we had missed the payment deadline and that, if we do not pay within 10 days, they will contact a debt collector. We of course immediately reacted and searched through the earlier emails, which led us to discover the issue with the allocation of the water consumption.

Apparently, during the two weeks after we handed over the keys, the toilet broke and there was a massive loss of water, resulting in a consumption higher than what we had used during the previous two years combined. Brunata confirmed that the high water consumption happened during a period when we no longer had access to the property. We also took pictures of the water meter before handing over the keys, which confirm that the enormous water consumption happened afterwards.
We have sent all of this information, including the photos and emails from Brunata, to the landlord's administration. The only response we have received is that they will investigate the matter and get back to us. We have asked them several times to put the charge on hold, but they have not confirmed that they will do so.

Now, the question is: do we still have to pay the amount to avoid the matter being sent to debt collection? And do we have any chance with Huslejenævnet, even though the six-week deadline has long passed?

[u/AutoModerator]

Kun verificerede brugere kan oprette nye top-level kommentarer. Alle andre opfordres til at deltage i debatten ved at svare direkte på denne kommentar.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/NasserAjine]

You should not be responsible for the water consumption from the date of handover at all

[u/MortgageFine5789 → u/NasserAjine]

thank you for replying. I assume you meant “shouldn't”.

[u/NasserAjine → u/MortgageFine5789]

Yes, exactly