What you need
- The bill for the main meter, with its units and the amount.
- A reading from every sub-meter at the start and at the end of the same period.
- An agreement with your tenants on the rate and on common use. The rent agreement is the best place for it.
Read every meter on the same day
Read all the sub-meters on the same day, as close as you can to the day the main meter is read for the bill. Readings taken days apart do not add up to the bill.
Take a photo of each meter as you read it. A dated photo answers most questions before they turn into arguments.
Work out the units
The units a meter used are its current reading minus its previous one.
| Meter | Previous | Current | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat 1 | 1,200 | 1,350 | 150 |
| Flat 2 | 800 | 900 | 100 |
Price the units one of two ways
- A rate per unit: you set a price for one unit, and each meter pays its units times that rate. It is simple and predictable, and the rate can be written into the agreement.
- A share of the main bill: each meter pays the same share of the bill as its share of the units. Electricity bills often price units in slabs and add fixed charges and taxes, so this passes on what you actually paid.
Agree who pays for common use
The main meter counts everything, while each sub-meter counts only its own flat or shop. The difference is common use: stair lights, a water pump, a gate light.
Agree how it is shared. Splitting it equally between the meters is common in small buildings. Some landlords keep it, as part of what the rent covers.
A worked example
The main bill is ₹3,000 for 300 units, so a unit costs ₹10. Flat 1 used 150 units and Flat 2 used 100, which leaves 50 units, or ₹500, of common use.
| Who pays | Common use split | Landlord keeps it |
|---|---|---|
| Flat 1, 150 units | ₹1,750 | ₹1,500 |
| Flat 2, 100 units | ₹1,250 | ₹1,000 |
| Landlord | ₹0 | ₹500 |
Either way, the three amounts add up to the ₹3,000 bill.
The same works for water
Water sub-meters split the same way, in litres instead of units. If you bill water every month, SetURent's water billing add-on turns each meter reading into a water bill you can print and collect against.