How to account for oil heat costs

[Jason Unrath]

When considering a rental property (I'm looking at duplex) that has oil heating, do you account for the price of tank refills separately, or just consider it as part of normal maintenance/CapEx? If I move forward with this property, I won't really be able to individually bill my tenants for heat, can I? I don't suppose I can separate costs of oil heat the same way other utilities may be separately metered per unit. Thanks in advance.

[John M.]

Is there one tank or two? If there are two, it's easy to make them responsible for filling it and paying the oil company direct.