Increase rent or transfer water and sewer - which would you do?

[Arthur McCormack]

I'm 1.5 years into my first rental and the tenants leases will be renewing 4 and 5 months respectively (it's a duplex). I made some dumb mistakes when I first started (didn't go on BP and learn first), so based on what a friend was doing in CA (my property is in IN) I told tenants they pay for gas and electric but water and sewer was covered by me (water is separately metered for each unit). Looking to the renewals coming up I am contemplating offering the tenant the option to not have a rent increase and instead take over the water/sewer bill in the new lease, should they decide to renew. The way I plan on presenting this is that it would a) spare them from having an actual rent increase and b) give them the ability to control the cost as they can control their water usage (in case they have been more wasteful than they could be). This would, of course, reduce my expenses with the property and net me a cashflow increase, and keep me from kicking myself every month I pay the bill for not having done it correctly from the get-go.

What are your thoughts? Do you foresee problems/issues/legal ra