W/S/G Cost Allocation to Tenants

[Daniel Bolinger]

Under Contract for a duplex 

Should I always pick up the cost of the water, sewage, and garbage or is it common to hand off some of these costs to the tenant? Or just add it to the cost of the rent. 

[Curtis Bidwell]

@Daniel Bolinger Are the utilities individually metered? If so, the tenant pays.  If not, you pay -but can do a charge back.  But ... that depends on your market. If the total rent and utilities exceeds the market you'll see increased vacancies. If you can get it, go for it! The market will tell you what it will bear. 

My duplexes are individually metered so we don't cover water, sewer, garbage. We are billed because the property is in our name, Which allows us to track their payment, but the resident gets a courtesy billing which they are responsible for.