Are Utilities included in MTRs

[Ryan Daulton]

Are utilities included in the rent price for MTRs?  Or do tenants pay for their own utilities?

[Nick Zupec]

We include utilities at all of our MTRs and I believe that is pretty standard. Someone coming for usually 30-90 days from out of town doesn't want to go through the hassle of figuring out who the providers are, starting service, stopping service, etc. We find that most travelers are looking for something easy and want one price and payment that includes rent, utilities, parking, etc. all in one. We just bake all of that into our monthly rate. There is a section in Furnished Finder that tells if utilities are included or not so you can see if most properties in your market do the same.

[Ryan Daulton]

That makes sense. Maybe that is why the general rule of thumb is MTRs are 1.5 times the cost of LTRs

[Zachary Deal]

I would recommend including utilities in the MTR. It will make it much easier for everyone and is generally expected to be included in the higher monthly rate (compared to an LTR)

[Jamie Banks]

Utilities are included in MTRs. I recommend setting a utility cap in your lease.

[Bonnie Low]

Quote from @Ryan Daulton:

Are utilities included in the rent price for MTRs?  Or do tenants pay for their own utilities?

 Most often, utilities ARE included. This includes water, sewer, trash, electric and WiFi. I am starting to see more people put a cap on electricity in their lease agreements, though. For example, landlord covers $100/month. Tenant responsible for anything above that. I'm starting to do this as well. Sometimes tenants abuse "free" power by running the AC with the windows open and so on. It doesn't happen all the time, but it only takes getting burned once to want to change your policy. I also offer multiple options. For example: rent is 2300/month which includes utilities. Or $2000/month if tenant puts power in their own name. There are pros and cons to this. One of which is that, in some jurisdictions, having the utilities in their name gives them a stronger argument should you find yourself in a squatter situation. However, that varies state-to-state.

[Ryan Daulton]

Thanks, this is a great idea about a cap!

[Nicole Heasley Beitenman]

Quote from @Bonnie Low:

I also offer multiple options. For example: rent is 2300/month which includes utilities. Or $2000/month if tenant puts power in their own name. There are pros and cons to this. One of which is that, in some jurisdictions, having the utilities in their name gives them a stronger argument should you find yourself in a squatter situation. However, that varies state-to-state.

How creative! Personally, I'm not willing to deal with the headache of constant switching, especially since my market allows me to flip to STR to fill awkward gaps. If I didn't get a switch initiated in time for an STR guest's arrival, I could put myself in hot water.

I wonder if this tactic could still work if you set rent at $2300 utilities included or $2000 with utilities billed separately through RentRedi/Tenant Cloud/Whatever You Use? Then they're still paying the bill but you don't have to deal with multiple account switches every year. That's how I billed my LTR tenants for utilities without actually putting the accounts in their names. Leases stated that rent payments were applied to utilities first and rent second.

[Miguel Del Mazo]

We include all utilities with our MTRs, and I expect that is pretty standard. One thing I would add is to include the actual speed of the internet you provide. FF will give a general guide of what your internet speed is, but this is a big draw for working travelers, so be as specific as you can somewhere in the listing.

[Ryan Daulton]

Great idea on the speed

[Bonnie Low]

Quote from @Nicole Heasley Beitenman:

Quote from @Bonnie Low:

I also offer multiple options. For example: rent is 2300/month which includes utilities. Or $2000/month if tenant puts power in their own name. There are pros and cons to this. One of which is that, in some jurisdictions, having the utilities in their name gives them a stronger argument should you find yourself in a squatter situation. However, that varies state-to-state.

How creative! Personally, I'm not willing to deal with the headache of constant switching, especially since my market allows me to flip to STR to fill awkward gaps. If I didn't get a switch initiated in time for an STR guest's arrival, I could put myself in hot water.

I wonder if this tactic could still work if you set rent at $2300 utilities included or $2000 with utilities billed separately through RentRedi/Tenant Cloud/Whatever You Use? Then they're still paying the bill but you don't have to deal with multiple account switches every year. That's how I billed my LTR tenants for utilities without actually putting the accounts in their names. Leases stated that rent payments were applied to utilities first and rent second.

 I think that is another great, creative solution, Nicole. I do like it for the reason you stated: not having to switch accounts. To be clear, I only offer that they put the utilities in their name for leases of six months or longer. Switching is a hassle for them or for me. I do tend to look at each situation individually and I do this based on my experience so it might be a little harder for someone new to do. For example, with a single travel nurse I don't worry much about utility usage. She's rarely there and when she is, she's mostly sleeping. These guests never have high utility bills in my experience. A travel nurse with a digital nomad fiancee who is there all the time - different story. A family - yet a different story all together. There's just really no one size fits all and a lot of it is trial and error.