Here Is To The Fair Distribution of Utility Bills

In a world where rental communities have become common, it is deemed necessary to have a system that applies fair practices. In the past, multi-tenant properties had a single meter for all tenants, and the bill was divided equally amongst all the occupants. With the passage of time, the idea of a single meter for multiple tenants is becoming obsolete and now the multi-tenant properties house submeters for every rental space in the building. This is justifiable as each tenant bears the burden of his/her use of the utility.

Multi-tenant properties include real estate such as shopping malls, apartment buildings, etc. where multiple tenants occupy a single property. The concept of multi-tenant property rental may seem lucrative upfront, but it may have its downside as well. For example, in case of recession, the multi-tenant property may not be fully occupied however the owner will be liable to pay the complete mortgage and may not be able to recover the mortgage expense due to the vacant section in the building or mall.

Benefits Of Submetering

1. Identification of spillage

Having an independent sub-meter for each tenant of the community allows the property owner to locate specifically which tenant is spilling gas/electricity due to unnecessary use of cooking, heating or any other electric equipment. This prevents any unnecessary spillage caused by a resident at night or during off-shift hours.

2. Ability to compare and set standards

Having sub-meters at different locations of a particular community can help the management identify which location has most gas or electric utility usage and allows them to study the reasons for extra use. This allows management to set benchmark and measure performance of other locations based on set standards to minimize utility costs.

3. Identification of utility bill errors

For single meter communities, there could be times when tenants of the community would not be able to identify whether their bill is high due to a technical error or high usage. The reason being, the bill has been equally divided, and there is no way to isolate the individual tenant’s bill from the rest of the community. With the help of sub-metering, the tenants have the visibility of minute details such as the number of units consumed by them during a particular period. This will help them identify if the high bill amount was caused due to high usage of utility or due to a technical error by the supplier.

4.  Access to accurate consumption data

By adopting sub-metering at a rental community, each tenant can identify their consumption. This leaves no room for pointing fingers in case a tenant receives a bill that reflects a high amount. This accurate and specific information about each sub-meter encourages tenants to minimize their utility usage or at the least avoid unnecessary spillage allowing more resources available to the community.

Bottom Line

With sub-metering technology providing so many benefits to the community it is no surprise that it has become a norm in the real-estate business to have sub-meters installed for multiple tenants. Companies like Multi Family Utility Company, Inc. handle everything from installation to maintenance to after sale service of such meters and make the process much easier and convenient.