Tenant Utility Bill Complaint

[J Scott]

In my limited experience as a landlord, this is the first time I've come across this situation, so I was hoping to get some feedback/advice from other landlords...

One of my tenants just called my property manager to complain that her heating bill for last month was over $400. She said that she believes this is unreasonably high and asked us to do something to ensure future bills are lower.

Now, as for whether the bill is higher than what should be expected, I really don't know. I only purchased this house a few months ago, so I don't have previous years data to go on.

I will say that this past month has been the coldest on record in Atlanta, with average temperatures probably around 35-40 degrees. Additionally, the tenant claims to have kept the thermostat at 73 degrees all day, every day.

As some background info, the house is a two-story traditional, 3 beds/2 baths, about 1600 square feet, was built about 6 years ago (2004), has original windows and has new exterior doors. The furnace underwent cleaning and maintenance a few months ago, and is also 6 years old.

Anyway, all the doors and windows are as well-sealed as we can get them, and without taking extreme measures (replacing windows with better insulated windows, I'm not sure there is much we can do.

Let me also point out that this tenant tends to be relatively high-maintenance...though I'm trying to judge this situation on its own merits.

Any thoughts/advice/opinions on how to deal with the situation or the tenant is appreciated...

Thanks!