I want to thank everyone for their input! However, this story is far from over. I decided NOT to subsidize the electricity bill and got a huge blow back from my tenant. I decided not to subsidize the electricity bill based on the following:
1) New tenants with little track record with me (just hit the 1 year mark).
2) Since being in my property for one year, they have put in seven service requests, which is a significant increase from the normal one and zero service requests I get from my other properties. This makes me believe these tenants have a tendency to be problematic and prone to issues, whether self-inflicted or not. For analysis, their service requests included replacing an oven they said had a large crack on the top that they swear was already there when they moved in, but not noted on the check-in inspection sheet. They also put in service requests to fix the garbage disposal, replace light bulbs in the kitchen, replace window screens so their cat can sit next to any window without being able to escape outside, and now replacing the AC. To note, I was the person who lived in this property before them and none of these things were ever an issue.
3) I looked at old electricity bills for the year before they were my tenants and found that year past usage was actually more than their usage but the cost is more because electricity has gotten more expensive.
Given my findings, I politely told the tenant I do not intend to subsidize their electricity bill. The tenant did not take kindly to this. Instead of accepting my 'No', he sent me a fairly detailed reply that I felt compared to share. I'm not necessarily looking for input, but figured this would be fairly informative to the BP community of tenant issues.
Before I share my tenant's reply, I will inform you that I have decided to put this property under management, as I just could not deal with the headache that this tenant has been. Enjoy!
Tenant reply:
"Hi Ralph,
Respectfully, I strongly disagree with your analysis, as it doesn't appear to consider the temp/usage data or the fundamental energy usage circumstances in June and July.
I've attached a Powerpoint file (it's short; two slides) to touch on two important ideas:
1) Your energy usage in Aug 2016 reflects different energy use habits, and is not directly comparable to our energy usage; this is borne out by comparison of Aug 2016 and Aug 2017 temp & energy use data.
2) My move-in in mid-August did not introduce a significant change in energy use patterns compared to what Kelly had already established on her own in that time (unsurprising given that we use all the same appliances and utilities); this is borne out by comparison of Aug 2017 and Sept 2017 temp & energy use data. We do tend to be rather energy-conscious if not simply because our combined income is, for now, rather less than we'd like, so it's best to save where we can.
And while the data is compelling, the conclusion of your analysis (that this bill does not reflect an unusual spike in energy usage in the summer months) implies that the circumstances are inconsequential. In June in particular, we left town for a week, meaning that the only utility in use during that time was air conditioning -- which, of course, was failing. I find it remarkable that a precipitous drop in A/C efficiency, causing it to run constantly 24/7 in hotter conditions due to its failure, further exacerbated by the installation of a window unit to cool a room separated from the rest of the hot house solely by a wooden door, *would not introduce a significant change in energy usage*. I don't mean to offend, but I simply cannot see how this could be literally, physically, possible, and I think that the burden of argument must lay on demonstrating how it could be possible.
I hope that you will reconsider given this analysis. Of course, you may understandably wish to wait until the data for August or September of this year is delivered, to get a more comprehensive picture.
Furthermore, in case you decide otherwise, I've decided to also attach the invoice for the hotel stay we had to book here in town after returning to a 95 degree house. Regardless of the stance of the new property manager (with whom I look forward to working) these temperatures constitute unsafe living conditions for the pets at least. Perhaps we humans are hardier -- either way, this was a cost I was more than willing to simply eat until now.
Finally, as was established, I do look forward to working with the new property manager you referenced. I understand that [name], who has really been quite helpful, is probably very busy with law school approaching so soon. But we still have not had our kitchen light bulbs replaced, months after the initial request, and we still have the window unit installed in our spare bedroom, which poses an insulation and safety problem (since to my understanding it was not secured for long-term use). I will bring these issues up with the new property manager as soon as they make contact.
Thanks,
[Name redacted]"
