Including vs. splitting utilities in small multifamiles

[Pat Jackson]

Up until yesterday I've always thought it was ideal to split as many utilities as possible, always.  My thought was this, if a faucet is dripping (or worse) I want them to think "I'm paying for that water" and either fix it them themselves or call for a repair.  I'm concerned tenants just won't give two cents if utilities are included.....let drips happen, turn the thermostat up to 80, etc.  I'm also concerned the closer to C the neighborhood is, the more this "utility abuse" will occur.

I just discussed this with @Ryan Murdock.  He prefers to cover utilities in multifamilies with lower quality tenants.  Most importantly they don't let heating oil run out and pipes freeze, but they also don't tend to have as much of their act together, and don't pay utilities timely and get them turned off.

Thoughts on this pro vs. con on utilities?  I've passed over many small multis because I couldn't meter out all utilities.