Splitting Utilities Amongst Tenants

[Catie Fihn]

Hi!  Newbie landlord in Wisconsin here.  My husband and I are currently getting tenants in for our first duplex.  The duplex currently only has 1 meter for utilities.  

How do I go about charging the tenants for their electricity and gas?  We pretty much have our tenants in place.  The upper unit will be occupied by 3 young adults, and the lower unit will be occupied by 1 adult and her 4 children.  Of note, I believe the lower unit will mostly be 1 adult and 2 of her children, and the other 2 children will only be there part-time.

Do I just keep the electricity/gas in our name and have the tenants reimburse us each month?  If so, do I just email a copy of the utilities to all tenants each month and have them split the bill 50/50 (upper tenants pay 50% of the bill and lower tenants pay 50% of the bill)?

We will likely have an additional meter installed at the property in the near future so that each unit will have its own meter, but until then, I need something concrete in their leases to identify how the utilities will be paid.  And once we have the additional meter installed, I assume I would need to send an addendum to each tenant to sign, indicating the change in utility billing?

[Corby Goade]

Having them reimburse you is a nightmare waiting to happen. They'll argue with you over use, running toilets, having the heat to high, too low, etc. 

Get historical averages from your utility company and just build it in to the rents, averaged over the year. Some months you'll be in the black, some in the red, but over the course of the year, you should be about even.