How to rent out basement and split utility?

[Vinh Nguyen]

Hi, 

I am interested in buying a house as rental property. It has 2 kitchens: first floor and the basement. The basement leads out to the back yard as a separate entrance. I would like to rent it out to two separate tenants (upstair and basement), but it is built as a single family with one utility meter. My question: is there a solution to rent out to 2 separate tenants and still find a way to spread the utility bill? I am opened to any feedback. Thank you!! 

[Theresa Harris]

If the basement has half the square footage and you have a similar number of people on each level, I'd just split them 50:50.  Rent it as $X excluding utilities.  Then when you get the bills, give the tenants a copy and they can pay 50% to you.  For two of my units, I pay water directly (they won't let tenants put it in their name), so when I get the bill every 3 months, I let them know the amount and they add it to the next rent payment.