Out of town housemates and utilities bills

Thats a hard one k, I mean I know how you're thinking that its NE and cold at the moment and the heat bills escalate at that time so, it might seem unfair...HOWEVER..if you all were gone from the house for a month does that mean no one pays the bills?
Did they say prior to this they wouldnt pay the bills?
Who is supposed to pay their share of the bills?
Did they sublet the room while they were gone?

Its all in how you look at it in a financial obligation standpoint.

How would you feel if you were the one who'd been away?

I think that if it were me, I'd at least pay some percentage, maybe not a full 1/3. A 1/4?

We never discussed it. I imagine that they assume they'll be paying the bills. BUT, the gas bill is rising drastically because of the weather and neither has been here to really see that happen before (well, maybe F has seen it).

I was thinking about something like a discount for them on the gas bill since they weren't here.

Yep, Mac, along the lines of what I was thinking.

That seems reasonable

ok, thanks you 2!

are they getting a discount on the rent also? I would still keep it the same, but then again, were I the one out of town, I'd still expect to pay the same also....

But, 1/4 is not bad if you're giving them a discount.

I know Onyx, I see both sides of most equations and that's why I have a hard time with this kind of thing.

I'd ask them what they want to do/mention it first, maybe you'll luck out and they'll offer to pay their full share.

ok, after doing the math, 1/4 and 1/3 don't seem to put a dent in the totals they owe me. I'll see what they say when I can speak with them both.

I understand why you're thinking this, littlek, but I still think they should pay their third. It is setting a bad precedent for one, for another, if they don't pay it, you do.

This is much easier when utilities bills are averaged. Do you have a written agreement with your roommates? In the agreements I've written, I knew the approximate monthly cost and that's added in to their rent. Sometimes it is over, sometimes it isn't. The agreement includes adding on a surcharge if the bill gets too high.

That would be 1/4 of the total bill, right? 1/4 of their normal share wouldn't put a dent in anything.

Right, roger, that's what I meant. It only lowers their share by 8 1/3% each.

oooh, I was taking a quarter off the gas (heating) bill.

Piffka, I'm not worried about precedent - they'll only be here until June.

ok. Delivery charge total is 56.03 - this should be split 3-ways.

3.94/day over the delivery charge. I'm going to break it down daily and figure it out that way....

You're too nice there, littlek.

MAKE 'EM PAY THE FULL SHARE GIRL!!

If they lived alone, they'd be paying the full share of any bills....1/3 is 1/3....

Yep, I am. Next month will be hell for me. This last bill works out with me paying about 1/2 of it. Next month will be worse. Maybe I'll just let them suggest a method for figuring out what's fair.

I can see you not wanting to charge them full. I can also see the reason the 3 of you live together is because no one can afford to pay everything themselves and it's more economical for everything to be split 3 ways. Until, of course, they're not around, then whoever's left ends up paying. Soooo...that doesn't work out, does it? Makes the whole housemate thing a moot point.

I'm sure you'll work it out. If they're good housemates then they'll pay what's fair (either a fair portion of what they would owe or the whole portion). If they're nasty creatures they'll try to skip the bill or be cheap. Then you could always get your own phone and a space heater or something....hhhmmm....

Best of luck. I'm sure they'll be good about it.