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[SJRB]

So you have to pay the company the same amount regardless how much you use? That's a pretty shitty deal then.

Over here we basically pay upfront - pay in January for usage in February, etc. Those costs are estimates based on your household configuration, type of house, etc.

Once a year there's an annual report that shows how much you've actually used in correlation to what they estimated you were going to use, and if the actual usage was lower than the forecast the differences are restituted. If the actual usage was higher, you have to pay the difference.


Naturally, when this happened, I split the restitution equally among roommates. Now of course, in a housemate situation people come and people go. Some people pay the monthly fee and never see any eventual restitution because they left the house before it was that time of the year. I was usually pretty strickt in that by saying "tough luck". I had new roommates at least once every 3 months, it is pretty much impossible to juggle everyone's information for years.
Juggling this kind of administration is the worst deal you can get, because you have to pay all the bills personally, and pray to god your roommates pay their share on time. It's a constant liability.


Man, I'm glad I live on my own now.

 

[msv]

I'm not saying they don't have to pay for ANYTHING just that I understand that they want to pay less the months that they are gone. This would only work if you could figure out how the exact monthly costs for water and electricity and then they both would just pay for 1/3 of the usual amount.

No, you're not reading the point. I'm saying it's not fair to do it for just that month. If you're going to divide it according to time spent home / usage, you have to measure that time/usage throughout the year, not just in that one month. Just because someone is away for one month consecutively doesn't mean that they're less at home overall.

 

[Jay Sosa]

Oh, didn't know that. Well in that case it's basically close to impossible to tell. In that case I would go woth the tough luck routine as well

Except someone is away for a year or so...

 

[Emerson]

I really think roommates should establish rules about this kind of thing up front. That's what we did and I've lived with the same guys for over three years. When people go away for the summer they're expected to pay rent and all utilities. For dozens of reasons but primarily that we use budget billing where you pay average usage, not actual monthly usage.

 

[johnny_park]

What if I take the average over the past year and divide it by 4? Me and the roommate who is staying will pay our usual share and since it should be lower the other two can pay what's left over.
Does that make sense? So if the bill is usually $200 but when they are gone it drops to $150. Then the 2 of us that are staying will pay 50 each while the 2 that are going on vacation splits the difference.
I think this is a reasonable compromise.

 

[tornjaw]

I haven't been following this thread 100% so some of this may have been covered already. I'm assuming that you own this house and that you're renting out rooms to people.

If the roommates plan on returning after their vacation they should most certainly pay rent while they are gone. If they don't agree to this and expect to return and kept going where they left off then you are losing out on money that you could be renting out to someone else.

As far as utilities, the utilities that do not change based on usage and is a flat fee, they should pay their share as well. As previously mentioned it costs more to start/stop the service than the monthly cost of it. They might not be using it, but they will have access to it immediately upon return which they probably wouldn't have otherwise if they were living on their own and left for an extended time.

The utilities that fluctuate with usage water/electricity/etc that's on you and the other roommate staying behind. Because you are the only ones using it and the cost is <largely> based off of your personal usage. EDIT - Electricity, if they plan on leaving a single thing plugged in they need to pay a percentage. Otherwise, they need to turn that shit off and unplug it. Electricity, as you know, can really rack up the bills.

I've had roommates that I've rented to in the past and this is how I ran things. If they don't like it, tell them to pack their shit and get a new tenant.

 

[LuchaShaq]

Rent Yes (unless they told you of these trips 6 months in advance and were cool with the rooms being rented to someone else while they were gone.)

Water/power? No.


Internet/cable? Yes because it is likely on an extended contract, can't just "turn it off".

 

[tokkun]

Interesting. I hope they don't leave anything plugged in while away, because that's eating up electricity and you're kind enough to pick up the tab. Also, of my $70 electric bill, $25 is various fees, charges, taxes, and bullshit. Of my $20 gas bill, less than $6 is actual usage.

So you have $40/month in non-usage fees, which, split 4 ways, is $10/month.

With 2 roommates not paying, the fees would be split 2 ways - $20/month.

So you are talking about $10/month for 3 months? Is that amount really worth getting outraged over?

I understand that you may be worried about achieving absolute fairness, but when you live with other people, sometimes maintaining a good relationship is a lot more valuable than a few bucks.

 

[Dosia]

Tell them to stop being cheap asses and pay, or find a new place to live.

 

[Koomaster]

Call your utility companies and let them know the months people will be away and that you want accurate readings for those months. They will most likely work something out with you.

But your roomates should still pay their share. Otherwise where does it end? 'Oh yeah well I was out of the house for 9.5 hours today so I don't feel I should have to pay utilities for that time. Not going to pay for water and electricity that I wasn't using.' See how silly that sounds? I mean if you add it up throughout the year you probably spend weeks not actually in your house using power and water and such. But you still pay your share when the bills come due.

 

[frogg609]

Back when I lived in a house with 4 people I had this on both sides of the coin:

1 roommate pretty much was gone for a summer, his band was recording and touring. He paid the bills split across the 4 of us and never had issue.

THe other roommate would go to her mom's every weekend. I really don't know why she was paying for a place to live, it made no sense. If she didn't pay her personal bills properly or was broke, she'd strike up the whole "i'm not here on the weekends, I don't need to pay as much." I refused to put up with that. She paid, just like everyone else.

I mean, if you are never home at night when it's cold, does that mean you don't need to pay for the heater to go on and heat the house while everyone else is asleep? Nope.

 

[Devolution]

So you have $40/month in non-usage fees, which, split 4 ways, is $10/month.

With 2 roommates not paying, the fees would be split 2 ways - $20/month.

So you are talking about $10/month for 3 months? Is that amount really worth getting outraged over?

I understand that you may be worried about achieving absolute fairness, but when you live with other people, sometimes maintaining a good relationship is a lot more valuable than a few bucks.

Absolute fairness can't be achieved anyway unless you can somehow measure the usage of electricity and water for each individual and split the bill based on hat.

 

[Biff]

Savings = (Bill_while-they-are-there - Bill_while-they-are-gone)

Therefore,

Payment_pervacationer = (Bill_while-they-are-gone/4 - Savings/4)
Payment_perstayer = Whateverisleft/2

I think that works, no?

Edit: Now I'm not sure if the savings should be split by 4 or by 2. I think 4 is more correct. This is way more complex than I first thought haha.

 

[Camp Lo]

Are they coming back? If yes they should contribute. If they don't want to tell them to find a new place. Rent is rent, gotta pay it.

Pretty much this.

 

[desh]

I think a lot of diiferent advice is being given based on where each advisor lives. For example, where I live, the TV and internet are flat rates, so these would be split normally while the housemates are away. However, electicity, water, and gas are mostly charged by usage at the end of each month, so the usage portion sof these bills should only be paid by those who stay in the house.

Now, with that being said, if your housemates insist on leaving certain electronics on, then determining an average might bethe better route. However, the problem with this is that certain months have higher energy costs due to either heating or ac.

 

[pigeon]

I would just like for you to know that I am coming from the viewpoint of I would be the one staying at the apartment. I don't make near enough money to pay rent for a place that I am not living in at the moment, I would sub-lease that piece asap. I guess I just don't see it your way sorry.

Edit: Also you have this apartment to yourself for 3 months with no roommates and your still paying only part of the rent. YOU GET TO LIVE WITHOUT ROOMMATES FOR CHEAP! That sounds like a win to me. I'd pay at least $100 dollars in taxes and fuck-all-ery to have an apartment all to myself for 3 months at dirt cheap rent.

I actually think this is a pretty good point. If they're paying the rent while they're gone and not getting subletters, they're already paying a lot of money just to store their shit, and you're not having to deal with subletters or, God forbid, having to interview and actually get new renters. I understand that there are flat utility fees, but are you really that hard up? Make sure they don't leave their hydro lights on while they're gone and you should be pretty well all right. A little bit of money spent is worth having a good relationship with the people you live with.

 

[msv]

What if I take the average over the past year and divide it by 4? Me and the roommate who is staying will pay our usual share and since it should be lower the other two can pay what's left over.
Does that make sense? So if the bill is usually $200 but when they are gone it drops to $150. Then the 2 of us that are staying will pay 50 each while the 2 that are going on vacation splits the difference.
I think this is a reasonable compromise.

There's no need for a compromise. As I said, it's not fair to you, that they pay less during that month. Either you detail the usage exactly, over the full year and divide accordingly, or you just divide it 4 ways, no questions asked. If someone is away for really long time, they should quit the room, or sublet.

Look at the effort you're putting in to try and make this 'fair', it's nonsense. If they really feel like they're using less overall, then you need to discuss it and come to a conclusion. But it's not fair for the two remaining to only pay more, relatively, when someone is gone for 30 days. A day not in the house, is a day not in the house, it doesn't matter if it's 2 days, 5 days or 30 days in a row.