Charge Tenants for Water Bills

[Darlene Oliver]

In my 4-plex, the tenants are going to be asked to contribute to the water bill.  Is it best to assign a  cost per unit or per occupant? Alternatively is it better to simply rise the rent? Thanks for your help!

[Theresa Harris]

Are all of the units the same size and have similar occupancy?  Look at usage over the last 2 years and estimate costs from there adding in a bit extra.  For rent, best is to advertize it as rent plus water (so $900 plus water).  Most people look at the $900 and if you said $1000 including water they'd focus on the $1000 price.