You leave the light on in your bedroom; your roommate talks long showers; and both of you are prone to leaving your laptops plugged in long after the battery has finished charging. Unfortunately, the utility company isn’t going to send you bills neatly itemizing the costs incurred by each of you separately, so how do you split the utility bills? Here are some tips for sharing utility costs equitably.
Paying utility bills
First, you want to make sure the bill gets paid every month. How you manage that is up to you and your roommate. Many apartment-sharers end up designating one person to pay the bills, in which case you could lump in utilities with other shared bills. Another strategy is to alternate paying the bills from month to month. If you do this, make sure you have a calendar prominently displayed and reminder notices so neither of you forgets when it’s your turn.
Splitting utility bills
How do you split the bill? In most cases, having each roommate pay a proportionate share is the easiest and fairest method. More negotiation may be necessary, however, if your roommate works from home and regularly consumes more power. When you’re negotiating, agree whether you want to simply split the bill or adjust it under particular circumstances, such as allowing a credit for a roommate who was away for a week.
Whose name is on the utility bills?
Whatever mechanism you use for actually paying the bill, designate one person to set up the contracts, hopefully saving money by finding better rates. Then you can decide whether that person has full freedom to act or needs to consult with roommates before signing with a new cable or gas provider. Either way, if you can make these agreements well before any money has to be paid, things will go more smoothly for you, both with your utility providers and with your roommates.
