Gas Meter Mix-Up

So we’ve recently close on a house, woohoo!  Our tenants have moved in and I’ve called the utility companies to activate the gas and electric.  I thought all was good until I got on the phone with National Grid to report the previous tenants last meter read.  Before, I get into my dilemma, here’s a quick overview of the house.  It’s a legal 2-family house 3 floors and a finished basement.  We will be living on floors 1&2 and renting the 3rd floor.  Back to National Grid.. So apparently the “main” meter which measures the consumption for heat, hot water and cooking gas is setup for unit 2, which are our tenants.  Unit 1 which is floors 1&2 only has our stove attached to it.   The customer service agent at National Grid said a plumber can fix this “in less than an hour”.  1- how much will it cost me to have this done? 2- how long will it truly take? 3- can I legally come to an agreement with the tenant to pay me x-per month for her cooking gas based on her historical use of gas?   Ok thank you!

guikazoid

in Plumbers and Plumbing 13 years and 8 months ago

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snowman2 | 13 years and 8 months ago

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You don’t want to just “trade bills” because you need the heat utility bills in order to claim it as an expense against the rental income on your income taxes. In other words, it’s an income tax deduction for you and you need the receipt. I have a 2 family with a duplex for myself and a one floor rental. I deliberately piped all the gas to one meter almost 30 years ago. The tenants gas usage is negligible – less than the minimium that the gas company charges – so I just pay it. 1/3 of the entire gas bill is deductible anyway and you can advertise that the apartment includes gas which is a little plus. Either pay to separate them properly or pay to have it all put to one meter.

masterbuilder | 13 years and 8 months ago

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The gas pipes can certainly be rerouted in an hour.  Plumbers typically charge a minimum for a service call.  Mine might charge about $400.

needmtg | 13 years and 8 months ago

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aah… trade means you’ll be paying the bill that comes to them, which is your bill for building heat and hto water, no? so the only difference is you’ll be paying for each other’s cooking gas, which, unless someone’s running a catering service should be minimally different. This requires, of course, you and tenants to be on good terms, since it’s probably ‘illegal’ from a landlord-tenant legal aspect.

needmtg | 13 years and 8 months ago

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Why bother? Why not just trade bills? Apparently previous l//l was getting away with tenant paying entire heating cost, and you want to correct this. I pay for the electrical on my tenant’s floor (separate meter) and they add it to the rent check. I’ve done this for 11 years and 2 tenants and it’s been fine. I’ve never felt a need to have an agreement other than verbal.