rental house utilities

[blueshirt]

I am scratching my head to understand why people when renting their house put the utilities on tenant. why tenant pays the utilities if there is provision to deduct this expense from income. Lets say we get $1500 rent per month and $200 utilities. if we combine both we can actually subtract utilities and make income earned as 1300 and pay tax on that 1300 and not 1500. So whats the gain to landlord to push utilities on tenants

 

[xpressentry]

If you pay the bills, you will have more value for the bills. Example: Canada is a cold country and heat bills are very high. You can choose to turn up the heating and roam around the house with little clothing or you can turn the heat down and probably wear a sweater in the house. If you pay bills, you are more likely to switch off lights and appliances as you would be paying for your usage. If the landlord pays or if it is included in the rent, he will go out of pocket if you waste water / hydro, etc.

Having a utility bill in your name improves your credit score as it shows that you pay your bills on time. It also serves as a current proof of address as bills are issued periodically.

 

[steaky]

How do you know exactly $200 utilities for any families and you can get $1300 in the first place? From previous owner or realtor？ Even so, the amount of usage for different individuals/ families are different. Especially, if the tenant owns an electric car and have a charger connected to the rented home. In case the landlord do not know, asking the tenant to pay for his own usage is the right thing to do. The landlord would not lose anything in doing so.

 

[arunsgirl]

Blueshirt, sometimes its easier to get a tenant with lower rent and utilities based on their use than just charging them a higher rent.