Submeters Offer Advantages for Landlords and Tenants

If you are a landlord who owns an apartment complex, a trailer park, an office building, or a warehouse with individual spaces rented to various tenants, you know that the fluctuating cost of utilities can make or break a month in terms of being profitable. It is tempting to fold the cost of water, electricity, gas, and even cable into the monthly rent charges, but this practice can lead to a situation in which your rent prices are driving away potential tenants, or your rental income is not covering the rising costs of utilities.

What is the Alternative?

There is a better way to meet your rising utility costs even in areas in which the utility company does not or cannot monitor utility usage for each individual unit. Submeters can be purchased and installed for each tenant, which can be read and invoiced by the landlord. These devices offer a fair, accurate way for the landlord to hold each tenant responsible for the utilities that they use, and cover his own costs without raising the rent.

How Can Submeters Make Better Tenants?

In the submetering system, the overall utility bills are the responsibility of the landlord. The individual invoices based on each tenant’s consumption are paid to the landlord, not the supplier. This means that tenants are given the incentive to conserve because their budgets are directly affected by their usage. The landlord’s property is more likely to be protected against overuse of electricity and gas, or dripping or running water if the tenants are responsible for the bills. And consumption will likely decrease when tenants are directly responsible and aware of their specific usage.

Additionally, because the payments being made directly to the utility companies are made by the landlord, there is reduced risk that a tenant could have their utilities shut off due to non payment. These events can lead to increased cost to repair frozen pipes, use of dangerous indoor heaters, and so on.

How Can Submeters Make Better Landlords and Happier Tenants?

If you are a tenant in a residential or commercial complex that is making use of submeters, you know that you can count on paying for what you are using, not some portion of the overall bill. Records could be kept of meter readings (or you can track them yourself) in order to document that you are indeed only being billed for your unit’s utility consumption. This gives you some control over your expenses. You will have the option to reduce consumption by using money saving light bulbs, turning down the heat, or using winterizing kits on your windows to conserve energy. All of these steps give you the ability to control your expenses, whereas a system in which your landlord has rolled projected utility costs into your rent gives you no control or incentive to cut your own monthly costs.

A Great Checks and Balance System

Using submeters to monitor tenant’s use of gas, electricity, water, and other utilities, and to hold them responsible for the costs of those utilities, gives tenants incentive to take better care of their living space to save money, while it gives landlords the ability to keep rent low because these costs are being covered.



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