Sharing bills with housemate that is not always around?

um7y1h83ge06nx

One of the lads I live with has recently gotten a new teaching job about an hour and a half away from where we live. Initially he was going to commute each day but then realised that it was not practical and rented a place in the new town as well, while still wanting to keep the room here.

Everything seemed alright except now he wants to only pay the electricity and gas bills for the nights he's not in the house, which would typically be Mon-Thurs.

I said that it wouldn't be practical, because to be fair we would need to track everyone's comings and goings, if he stays in our place for the mid-terms and holidays that would need to be taken in account. If one of us is away for an extended period that needs to be taken into account in order to be fair (I myself am heading away for over 3 weeks).

Plus even when everyone is in the house we would all naturally have different usages anyway.

So, is it fair for me to say that the only manageable way to do this is to continue with what we do and split the electricity and gas evenly among every person? Or does anyone have any other ideas?

Thanks.

djimi

Did you rent the house as one unit as a group, or do you each rent rooms in the house?

If you rented the house as a group and were budgeting the bills to be split x number of ways each month then Id say its only fair to expect him to honor that agreement for the duration of your original lease. Its not your problem that he is not there 4 nights a week. If he doesnt want to pay his way as originally agreed then perhaps he should move out altogether and let you get someone else in who will be willing and able to pay their way in full.

I guess he could have a point about the electricity bill; if he is not there then theory the bill should reduce by the amount that he would typically use. However in practice this is not always the case (certain appliances will use the same amount of electricity regardless, the house still needs to be heated if using electric heating etc) so its not exactly an exact science. You could allow him pay a slightly smaller share of the electric bill to compensate for the fact that he is not there all of the time, but I wouldnt be letting the other housemates struggle as a result.

Mr.Wemmick

What about mid-term-breaks/holidays, will he pay the full week's utility bills then? It's just crazy. If you're rented a place then you pay your share of the standard bills whether you are there or not -- are you going to not pay when you are on holiday for 3 weeks?

This reminds me of when an old flatmate argued about not cleaning because he wasn't there to make the dust :rolleyes:

The total cost of the energy bills will decrease if he isn't there during the week so he will make a saving anyway.

Not to mention, it will cause a huge inconvenience to you and the other flatmates to separate the bills by usage only.

He needs to pay his share as normal.. and if it is too expensive he should decide to live in one place and not two.

The Big Red Button

Nope, the terms and conditions should continue exactly as when you rented the house. Bills should be shared evenly - even if he's never there!

Would he be happy for you to rent out his room to someone else Monday-Thursday, when he's not there, and their rent would cover his share of the bills? I doubt it!!

If he wants to keep his room, he needs to honour his responsibilities when it comes to his share of the bills.

SteelyDanJalapeno

That would be a nightmare trying to work out how much each person pays, as said different appliances use differeny amounts of electricity, for example if he makes a lot of tea the days he's there the kettle would use far more electricity than other appliances, same goes for Ironing, this would all needed to be taken into account if he wants to get specific about paying the bill, It should be up to him to work it out the exact amount for each housemate if this is the route he wants to go down and nobody else does.

convert

The bill should be divided equally between everyone, regardless of how many nights they stay there. What happens if someone goes on holiday? Or is away for the weekend? It'll just get extremely messy and lead to even more arguments.

I lived with a girl who tried to do this, until it was pointed out I only stayed there 3 nights a week (same as her) and I had no problem paying my equal share of the bill. She wasn't best pleased, but it shut her up very quickly. Worst thing was that she was an energy junkie who had lavalamps on 24/7 and used her laptop, TV and radio together when she was in the house. When she moved out the bills dropped radically, even though she was only there 3 nights a week!

If he still insists, tell him he needs to work out the bill between people and that he has to keep a diary of who's in the house when, as a record has to be kept of everyone's comings and goings in order to make sure everyone pays their fair share!

odds_on

Of course, OP, you can then get a reduction when you go away on holidays as you won't be using any utilities. And, there are still standing charges whether you use some utilities or not.

um7y1h83ge06nx

Thanks for the comments, just wanted to make sure I'm being reasonable.

convert wrote: »

If he still insists, tell him he needs to work out the bill between people and that he has to keep a diary of who's in the house when, as a record has to be kept of everyone's comings and goings in order to make sure everyone pays their fair share!

Yeah, that's the only method I could think of doing that which of course is madness, it'll be like a little census that will need to be carried out every night, and if the person that does it isn't around then the "second in command" needs to do it. It'll be just the perfect recipe for arguments.

SteelyDanJalapeno

Brenden Lively Football wrote: »

Thanks for the comments, just wanted to make sure I'm being reasonable.



Yeah, that's the only method I could think of doing that which of course is madness, it'll be like a little census that will need to be carried out every night, and if the person that does it isn't around then the "second in command" needs to do it. It'll be just the perfect recipe for arguments.

tell him the rest of you are happy with how the arrangement currently is, as was agreed on originally.

If he wants to change it, it should be his responsibility to collect the usage data and work out the individual cost.

ebixa82

That is not just impracticable, but would be impossible to police.
If he wants to rent two places then he has to deal with the implications. If he's not happy tell him he can always move out.

Victor

One can somewhat sympathise with the situation, but his problem is that he is renting two properties, not paying two sets of bills. It's a house share, not a hotel. If he wants a hotel, he needs to pay hotel prices.

Where will he be doing clothes washing, etc.?

Brenden Lively Football wrote: »

Yeah, that's the only method I could think of doing that which of course is madness, it'll be like a little census that will need to be carried out every night

Cue someone trying to get as many night shifts as possible and sleeping during the day! You need to do it hourly!

Be careful that he doesn't move out and stick you for the bills.

johnwest288

It should be split evenly end of ...for instance.. i am not a Waster of finite natural resources. I HATE people that waste electricity.
One of my housemates uses

A fan heater all day with the window open to let out the smoke from his ciggies despite the central heating on....
Leaves a 50" plasma screen on when he is just popping to the shops for 5 mins ( which ends up as half an hour)
Small mini fridge in room with chocolate and some soft drinks in it ( you couldnt keep them in the house fridge)
Leaves the bathroom light on as well as the shaver light on even during the GOD DAM DAY ... ALLWAYS...
His electric bed blanket i dont think he has ever had it even turned off.
Warm days he uses the tumble dryer.... Oh no you couldnt use the line or the airing rack...

Yet i must pay for this waste.. Thats the thing with bill sharing there is allways one WASTER.

ebixa82

johnwest288 wrote: »

It should be split evenly end of ...for instance.. i am not a Waster of finite natural resources. I HATE people that waste electricity.
One of my housemates uses

A fan heater all day with the window open to let out the smoke from his ciggies despite the central heating on....
Leaves a 50" plasma screen on when he is just popping to the shops for 5 mins ( which ends up as half an hour)
Small mini fridge in room with chocolate and some soft drinks in it ( you couldnt keep them in the house fridge)
Leaves the bathroom light on as well as the shaver light on even during the GOD DAM DAY ... ALLWAYS...
His electric bed blanket i dont think he has ever had it even turned off.
Warm days he uses the tumble dryer.... Oh no you couldnt use the line or the airing rack...

Yet i must pay for this waste.. Thats the thing with bill sharing there is allways one WASTER.

Why do you continue to live there? I'd either kick him out or leave.