charging utilities to tenants when there is no meter

[DougHuntingdon]

I don't know if anyone else on this forum rents, based on all the posts I have seen on home ownership, but anyway I have a non-internet friend who rents an apartment on Edgewater. The entire building is rentals, with no condos. She received a notice from the landlord that they will begin charging her for utilities (electric and natural gas), once her lease is up. (The current lease was inclusive of utilities.) She would not necessarily mind paying utilities, except there are no individual meters. The notice states that she will be charged her "fair share," based on the square footage of her apartment. So, if her apartment is 500 square feet, and the total square footage of all the apartments in the building is 50,000 square feet, she will be charged 1% of the total utilities. I have heard many times over the years that landlords cannot technically charge utilities if there is no individual metering, but perhaps this is an urban legend. Does anyone have an idea of what the law is in this area? I told her she would be crazy to pay proportionate utilities like that, when there are some people in the building who likely use utilities excessively and who have a lot of people crammed into their apartments. I don't want to name the building, but I have noticed its quality of tenants going downhill, as well. Maybe this is a sign that it is time for her to move on. I feel bad for some of the elderly in the building who have lived there a long time who may get pushed out.

Doug

[dl meckes]

Doug-

Here are some links:

Ohio’s Landlord and Tenant Law: http://www.ci.lakewood.oh.us/law_tenantlaw.html

Rental Rights: http://www.ci.lakewood.oh.us/law_rights.html

[Bryan Schwegler]

I don't want to name the building, but I have noticed its quality of tenants going downhill, as well.

Maybe you should name it. Perhaps we need to more publicly hold these slumlords accountable and make sure prospective tenants avoid the property.

[SheNut]

This practice is called RUBS. Ratio Utility Billing Service. It's a system of utility billing that is based on the square footage of your unit and the number of people living there. It is not based on usage, so it's pretty unfair and doesn't promote conservation. A lot of building owners who opt for this way of billing utilities choose this, because it doesn't cost them anything, whereas installing individual meters would. This way of billing is legal almost everywhere in Ohio. There are specific places where it has been banned, such as the City of Cleveland.

In the interests of full disclosure, I work for a utility submetering company, so i'm probably rather biased against RUBS. However, personally, if i have to pay for my utilities, i'd rather pay for MY utilities, not the whole building's.

[DougHuntingdon]

Thanks for the info, SheNut.

I will be moving when my lease is up but remaining in Lakewood.

I agree that it is unfair, and that is a good point you made about conservation, too.

Doug