How to split utilities in a multifamily

I’m used to multifamilies where each unit has its own water heater and furnace. But what If there is a home with only 1 water heater and 1 boiler in a multifamily home, how exactly would one split the bill almost tenants? Metering each unit costs too much money. The easiest is have heat and hot water included, but then you have issues of tenants running up the bill. Has anyone ever billed utilities separately? If so, what’s the most efficient way to handle this?

Guest User | 7 years and 7 months ago

2

Please log in, in order to post replies!

2 replies

Newest Oldest

slopefarm | 7 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#5052 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#5031 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(3) "655"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(9) "slopefarm"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(34) "$P$BK7dzbqXJe9TV6iU0glcNZiXdOt9CR1"
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(9) "slopefarm"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(18) "jrubin@law.nyc.gov"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(24) "/forums/users/slopefarm/"
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2017-08-10 14:11:42"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(9) "slopefarm"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(655)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(2) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
    [1]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

Are the boiler and hot water heater powered by gas? It won’t be that costly. I would be most worried about the capacity of the water heater — you don’t want tenants’ overuse to mean you are taking cold showers yourself. Otherwise, i wouldn’t worry so much about how much water use is going to cost you.

For heat — if it is a one boiler system, then you control it if the thermostat is in your unit. Tenants can’t run up the bill.

namahs | 7 years and 7 months ago

string(1) "1"
object(WP_User)#5050 (8) {
  ["data"]=>
  object(stdClass)#5053 (12) {
    ["ID"]=>
    string(5) "26703"
    ["user_login"]=>
    string(6) "namahs"
    ["user_pass"]=>
    string(34) "$P$BK9pauSjdxoBXgbbZtKEi5FJ5WCk660"
    ["user_nicename"]=>
    string(6) "namahs"
    ["user_email"]=>
    string(16) "eychan@gmail.com"
    ["user_url"]=>
    string(21) "/forums/users/namahs/"
    ["user_registered"]=>
    string(19) "2017-08-10 14:40:17"
    ["user_activation_key"]=>
    string(0) ""
    ["user_status"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["display_name"]=>
    string(6) "namahs"
    ["spam"]=>
    string(1) "0"
    ["deleted"]=>
    string(1) "0"
  }
  ["ID"]=>
  int(26703)
  ["caps"]=>
  array(2) {
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["cap_key"]=>
  string(15) "wp_capabilities"
  ["roles"]=>
  array(2) {
    [0]=>
    string(10) "subscriber"
    [1]=>
    string(15) "bbp_participant"
  }
  ["allcaps"]=>
  array(4) {
    ["read"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["level_0"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["subscriber"]=>
    bool(true)
    ["bbp_participant"]=>
    bool(true)
  }
  ["filter"]=>
  NULL
  ["site_id":"WP_User":private]=>
  int(1)
}

If you only have a single heater and boiler for a multifamily home, usually the landlord would pay for it. Don’t think you can split it with the tenants and there are no way you can tell how much usage each apt is using. You can try to set the rent slightly higher but most tenants would not pay that much extra because you include hot water and heating.