Splitting utilities when you don't have a separate meter

[Nelson Del Castillo]

I have a 2 family house, the first floor unit along with the garage and basement lights, are all on one meter. Previously the first floor apartment was rented to college students so I would pay for all utilities... We are now renting the full apartment to one person.. How do you legally split the utility bills, which would be electric?  Are there any laws regarding this in Connecticut? My thought was that I would pay for 50% of the electricity and that the tenant would pay for 50 % of the electricity.. In the future, I suppose I can add another meter for the general house.

[JD Martin]

Really, you're making it more complicated than it has to be. Increase the rent to cover what you expect their portion of the electric to be and include all utilities. If you can't figure out what their portion of the electric would probably be, how would you know how to charge them anyway? 

Long-term, if you don't want to include utilities you need separate meters.