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this post was submitted on 15 Jul 2026
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That seems wild to me that anyone would agree to a blanket "I'll pay for electricity" clause. I suppose they're probably gouging the fuck out of rent in exchange but recent years' increases in electricity price is now fucking them. That was a very stupid decision on their part. Most landlords correctly make that "your problem."
If they weren't wise enough to put in a maximum per month or per years amount that they'll pay for electricity then it becomes the tenants' problem... I don't see a way out for them. Not any legal ones. They may try to just do something anyway because, you know, not "good" people and all that.
I guess the options are pretty much get everyone else with your similar situation under them to say "fuck off." See how far the landlord is willing to push it. If you're in a mood for compromising (just throwing it out there) or negotiating maybe they'll agree to amending the lease so that they pay for electricity up to X amount then you pay the amount over. They could provide the bill as proof next month and ask for that amount more. They should have come to the tenants with this proposal to begin with... perhaps with hat in hand and a "Hey, I fucked up with the lease situation. I didn't add a cap to what I'd pay... can you guys please not fuck my dumb ass?" But of course it's very landlord mindset to immediately jump to "Welp, you're all gonna have to die! Sorry!"
Probably OP is the only tenant not running a bitcoin miner.
Landlord too lazy to install separate meters?
Where I'm at in rural chudland Canada, the energy mix is almost entirely hydro and wind and there's a single natural gas plant that runs at less than 10% of capacity and is mostly a "just-in-case" thing.
Buildings built before about 2005 are wired, heated, and/or plumbed in a way that's impossible to separate by apartment so landlords either just divide it up evenly between apartments or just cover the cost. Mine has boiler radiant heating and water costs built into rent, but I pay about $50 for power in the summer to run A/C and we have an electric car and e-bike. It's like maybe $20 in the winter.
It may be the case that OP's building is similar and they can't actually discern who's using what amount of power.
I think because this building is old as hell they can't meter everyone individually or don't want to. Both the water and the electric have had some degree of malfuncting most of my time living here