Triplex Without Seperate Utilities

[Aaron Corleone]

Hello everyone!

Just found this website and look forward to being a part of this community. I'm newer to this so I have a lot to learn!

I just bought a triplex. The only issue with it is it doesn't yet have separate utility meters for the three units. I can't afford to do this as of now but would like to get renters in there in the mean time. What would be the best way to handle this? I don't want to just pay for the utilities as that gives no incentive for the tenants to be responsible with their use. But I also can't figure out a way to split them up fairly among the three units since we won't know how much each tenant/unit is using. I'm just envisioning fights breaking out in the foyer of the triplex! Me getting calls every month saying they aren't the ones driving up the bills!

Has anyone come up with a good way to handle this?

[Bill S.]

Couple of ways. Split by square footage. Each unit has the same foot print. They get 1/3 the bill each. The other way is by number of occupants. The way I do it is, I pay the bill myself and bill the tenants separate from rent based on square footage. I haven't had any complaints yet. Probably will one day. I'll cross that bridge when I do. I the mean time I have saved lost of money by recovering the cost of utilities.