What types of utilities should not be paid for by those who live in a rented apartment

Renting an apartment does not relieve the tenant of the obligation to pay for the water, electricity, heating, or gas consumed. Paying for utilities in a rented apartment is no different from paying for a communal apartment where the owner lives. Utility bills include electricity, water and sewerage, gas, heating (during the heating season), rent, garbage collection, and Internet fees.

Read also: New consumption standards for calculating utility subsidies

Usually, the issue of utility payments is agreed upon between the owner and the tenant at the time of signing the lease agreement. If this is not specified in the agreement, it is discussed verbally. There are two options if utilities are not specified in the lease agreement:

1. Utilities are paid by the landlord. The owner of a rental property pays for utilities on his own, and the tenant is not interested in this at all. In effect, the tenant reimburses the utility bill by paying a higher rent.
2. The tenant pays for the utilities. A tenant who lives in an apartment pays separately for water, electricity, gas, etc., and separately for renting an apartment. The amount spent on utilities is not included in the rent, and the owner does not reimburse the tenant.

When calculating payments for certain services, depending on the number of registered persons, difficulties may arise. For example, if 5 people are registered in an apartment and the garbage collection fee is charged for 5 people, but in fact only one tenant lives in the apartment, the difference in payment must be covered by the owner.

In addition, when calculating the rent, which usually takes into account the area of the apartment, if the tenant does not rent the entire apartment but only part of it, for example, one room out of two, the owner must pay a percentage of the total payment for the part of the apartment that is not used by the tenant. This may also apply to heating, especially if it is centralized.

It is worth noting that the lessee is not obliged to pay for services or goods that it does not use or consume.

As a reminder, we wrote earlier that in 2023, the rules for paying utility benefits changed.

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