2 homes sharing one meter, how do I put this in lease contract?

[Lee V.]

hi all

I'm renting a duplex that shares on meter. Can you tel me the correct wording to put in the lease contract to make sure this sticks? 

I want one tenant to pay 60% and the other to pay 40% of the electric bill. One side has more occupants. And I think this is fair. 

[Kim Meredith Hampton]

@Lee V. I always get negative feedback from tenants no matter what in this scenario ( because they say they ALWAYS use less utilities):-)

If you can, figure out the average over the last one or two years and divide accordingly, and include in the rent. If it goes over a certain amount that is allocated based on the average (list on lease), then they would owe additional Rent for that month

[Lee V.]

thanks for your input 

[Remone R.]

hey mike I too have two duplexes with one meter and I saw I only had two choices. Either raise the rent high enough to cover the utility usage(which doesn't keep the tenant from using even more) OR have submeters installed and that way you can track each tenant usage. So if you the money I would get the submeters installed, and you make your money back in 6-12 months. Plus increasing your noi 

Good luck