General apartmen utilities question

[Informed Info]

Originally Posted by boxus

The point would be for the apartment management to make some extra money. They will divide the utilities among tenants and square feet of the apartment, add the common areas, and tack on an "admin fee" on top of it, though some states have laws against this, but not sure about complexes finding a way around it.

If it is not this way, then the complex will tack a monthly "utility admin fee" to your rent each month, even though you pay to the utility company; anything to make an extra buck.

The higher the rental demand is, the more odd ball fees and tactics a person will see.

Where does this happen?

If there is a water meter/gas meter/electric meter for each unit, there is no reason the cost of any usage should be shared among tenants. That back-handed way of making "extra" money wouldn't be worth the time or headache of any LL or management company.

Common areas should be separately metered (called a LL meter) and paid for by the LL/complex owner.

[acealive1]

Originally Posted by Sawdustmaker

Check your bill and see if it was estimated or actual.

this one was "actual" and VERY high which is kind of hokey because a friend of mine lives in some very similar apartments and his all electric apartment in the winter was only about 65 a month and he's married.

i actually have less things using electricity than at my old place so if anything it should have been dropping.



i wonder what kind of game they run on people thinking they'll just pay up without reading their bill.

[Ultrarunner]

A friend from work notices high electric bills... she could not figure it out and the complex and utility were of no help.

She was going away for a week... I suggested she turn off her main breakers after making sure her refrigerator was empty and the door open.

Anyway, when she came back there was a crew working down in the laundry room below her apartment.

Seems her electricity was going to the washroom sump pump

She agreed on a dollar amount for not filing charges for energy theft... was planning on moving anyway.

[Kim in FL]

Originally Posted by roadhogger

That is very untrue. Where I stayed in a apt complex we had our own meters on the side of the building but the water and electric was combined and split between all tenants in the building

STT already commented on this and she's correct (as am I) if each unit has it's own meter and each meter has it's own account owner..how can you be charged for anyone else's usage? You can't.

[Lacerta]

In my area, sewer does what you have described, but nothing else. Sewer bill is based on winter water usage, so if a new tenant moves in in the summer, they may have a sewer bill that is unusually high or low for them for the first few months, depending on whether the prior tenant had more or less occupants.

But power and gas should be metered, and based on nothing more than current usage.

One question, is your unit electric heat? That might explain why your bill is a lot higher than you expected.

Second question, is your meter somewhere you can see it? If so, try unplugging everything (including appliances) in your apartment, turning off all the lights, and then go look at the meter, watch it and see if it moves. If it does, you need to have a meeting with your landlord.