House Hacking Duplex - Monthly payment Problem with utilities

[Joseph Kirk]

Hi everyone, 

I recently purchased a duplex that I plan to house hack. I'm going to be living on the 2nd floor and rent out the 1st floor unit. We have a shared basement with 1 washer and 1 dryer that we share. my problem is, the first floor pays the bill for the gas dryer and electric washer (that we both share), and they also pay the bill for the heat for the whole house (radiator heat). It used to be a single family. How would I go about this problem? I intended to charge $1850/month plus utilities, but now realizing that their unit is getting billed for the shared washer/dryer/heat, I am not sure what to do. Let them get the bill then I pay half? Vice versa? 

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! 

[Eliott Elias]

Charge a flat fee for utilities. Look at what Bill’s have looked like in the past and come up with a number that makes sense.