looking to purchase 3 family house but utilities aren't seperate

[Brian Zaug]

Hey BP, i'm looking at this 3 family and I really like the location and even the asking price.  Problem with this property is the Landlord pays all the utilities (heat, hot water, electric).  He charges them a "utility fee" to cover some or maybe even all of the bills.  Is this even legal?  The apartments aren't the same size so i'm not sure how the owner came up with these numbers. Is there a better way to handle this situation, like by adding it to the rent, or is this an acceptable form of having the tenants pay for the utilities?  Thanks in advance for your help...