The biggest choice that you face as a landlord is how much to charge for rent. That is often determined by the rental market where you live, along with the extras that you include.
Utilities are some things included with rent, while other times tenants get billed individually. There are pros and cons to both.
Here are some reasons to include utilities in the rent.
Many older apartments don't have this option. If you are renting out an old house, your apartments may not have separate utilities.
It isn't very easy to do. If you don't have separate meters, you could spend hours trying to figure out what everyone owes each month. It might not be worth it to you.
You may be able to charge more. Many landlords who offer utilities do so by increasing the cost of rent. You might even up making more money by giving them this option, especially if your utilities aren't going to cost too much.
Here are some reasons not to.
You may notice that your utility bills go up. If they aren't paying the bill, your tenants have no reason to watch how much electricity and internet they use.
In fact, your utility bill may be higher than expected. If your tenants are overusing the utilities, you are going to have to pay for this. You may not have factored in such high bills when deciding how much to charge for rent and you may be losing money.
You don't have to deal with the utility companies at all. When the tenants are in charge of their own utilities, it takes one thing off of your plate. If you don't want to deal with electricity, internet, and more, make your tenants do it for you (or them)!
While you may not be able to make the decision about utilities (because your apartments aren't set up with individual meters), most landlords can. However, it comes down to whether or not you want to deal with the utility companies or not.
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