Rental Property Investor · Myrtle Beach, SC · Member since 2013 · 209 posts · 61 votes
Hey everyone. I own a 3 family in the Bronx which is also my primary residence. I'd like to start thinking about moving out and renting out my apartment. Each apartment has their own gas and electric meters, and all share one boiler and water heater. The issue is that the boiler and water heater are on my gas and electric meters. So I pay my cooking gas and electric for my apartment as well as the heat and hot water for the whole house. I was wondering if it's better to get a separate gas meter installed for the heat and hot water, or if there is a way around it. Does anyone know the typical cost of a job like this? Can I just install a new gas line and not a new electric meter? I read on the Con Ed website that if a tenant pays something like less than 10% of their electric bill towards supplying common areas then that is legal. Maybe I can pay the gas portion of the Con Ed bill for that apartment from whoever rents it instead.
Hi Chris, you mentioned each apt has its own gas and electric meter. If that is the case I would say just install a separate water heater and boiler for each apt. So you will need to add 2 of each. The problem is that you might need to file permits and that in turn will trigger the architect drawings. Anyway if you need a plumber referral, I can give you one. I was in a similar situation but decided against separating the gas/heat because it was just too expensive. I just added the average Gas charges to the rent. Thanks