1–20 unit landlords
Utility billing & charge-backs on DIY landlord software — water/sewer/trash re-bills, splits, flat fees
For a 1–20 unit landlord, utility charge-backs are usually a small-dollar, high-annoyance job: one water bill, two or three units, a split you have to explain every month. None of the three DIY tools reads meters, pulls your utility bill, or calculates a split — they all just let you post a charge. The differences are in the details. RentRedi wins the scheduled recurring utility lane: a dedicated Utilities charge type with its own repeat schedule (monthly, bi-monthly, custom) and a help article built around budget-billing flat amounts — but tenant autopay covers rent only, so utility charges are paid by hand. TurboTenant wins the roommate split + autopay lane: a Utility category, a “Split the amount between tenants” option on one charge, and autopay that follows recurring charges — but help articles disagree on whether Utility itself can be monthly, and automatic late fees apply only to monthly rent. Avail wins the free, simple invoice lane: “Request a Payment” each month on free Unlimited, with community-documented workarounds for sharing the bill — but no published way to attach the bill to the request.
What this page is (and is not)
- Is: a side-by-side of utility charge categories, recurring vs one-time options, roommate/multi-tenant splits, autopay and late-fee coverage for utility charges, how to share the actual bill, and free vs paid gates on RentRedi, TurboTenant, and Avail — plus a split-method chooser, a worked duplex month, and a monthly re-bill checklist.
- Is not: a review of submetering or third-party utility billing companies, a legal guide to RUBS (ratio utility billing) in your state, or tax advice. Rules on passing utility costs to tenants vary by state and city — see the state note below.
- Sequel note: Read with partial payments & credits (when a tenant pays rent but not the water), late fees & autopay, bank reconciliation, and accounting & Schedule E.
- Uncertainty rule: TurboTenant’s own help articles disagree on whether the Utility category can recur monthly (details below). Avail support pages often render as JS shells, so we rely on avail.com product pages and community-manager answers and flag their dates. We found no documented way on any of the three to attach a bill image to a tenant charge.
Definitions (read this first)
- Charge-back / re-bill / pass-through: You pay the utility, then charge the tenant for their share. The tenant owes you, not the utility.
- Flat utility fee: A fixed monthly amount (often based on an average or a utility budget plan) instead of the actual bill. Easy to automate; can drift from actual cost.
- Actual-bill re-bill (in arrears): Wait for the bill, then charge the exact share. Accurate, but always a month or a quarter behind — the last bill often arrives after move-out.
- True-up: A periodic adjustment (often yearly or at move-out) that charges or credits the difference between flat fees paid and actual bills.
- RUBS (ratio utility billing): Splitting one master bill by a formula — square footage, occupants, bedrooms, or a mix — rather than by a meter. Common for duplexes and small multifamily with a shared water meter. Legality and disclosure rules vary by state.
- Submeter: A meter you install per unit so you can bill actual use. Outside the scope of these three tools; you’d still post the resulting amounts as charges.
Feature snapshot (verify on vendor pages)
| Capability | RentRedi | TurboTenant | Avail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utility charge type | Yes: Create New → Charges → Other Charge → Charge Type Utilities (description defaults to “Utilities,” editable) | Yes: Create Charge → category Utility (alongside Rent, Security Deposit, Late Fee, NSF, Other) | Payments → Request a Payment (community-manager answer, 2023). avail.com describes payment lists with rent, deposits, and fees; we couldn’t confirm a utility-specific label in current help |
| Recurring utility charge | Yes, documented: Total Occurrences + Charge Every (monthly, bi-monthly, custom schedule) + due day; preview all scheduled charges before saving. Help recommends a utility budget/level-pay plan so the amount stays stable | Conflicting help: “How to Create Charges” (Jul 2026) says only Rent and Other can be monthly and other categories are one-time; the Rent Payments Guide calls monthly charges “perfect for… fixed utilities,” and the weekly-charges article lists Utility as a recurring category. If Utility won’t recur in your account, use a monthly Other charge described as the utility | avail.com advertises “automatic recurring payment setup” and payment lists with fees; whether a non-rent line recurs on its own is not clearly published. Community landlords describe re-entering the water/sewer request each month or quarter |
| One-time actual-bill charge | Same Other Charge flow with Total Occurrences set to 1 (help flags this with a warning) | One-time Utility charge; one-time charges post to the tenant immediately, regardless of due date | Request a Payment with amount + due date, sent each billing period |
| Split one bill across tenants on a lease | Choose which tenant(s) on the unit see the charge; “only selected tenants will be able to view and pay.” No documented per-roommate amount split on one charge — create separate charges per tenant if needed | Yes, documented: “Split the amount between tenants” on a single charge (equal by default, editable; portions must total the charge). Each tenant sees only their share; reminders go to the assigned tenant | Tenants can split payments with roommates (avail.com rent collection page) — that is tenant-side splitting of a charge, not a landlord-set allocation |
| Split one bill across units (RUBS-style) | None of the three calculates a cross-unit split. You do the math (spreadsheet), then post one charge per unit. Keep the bill and your formula with each month’s charges | ||
| Tenant autopay covers utility charges? | No: “tenant auto-pay works for rent payments only… utilities… tenants will still have to make manual payments” (Jul 2026). Tenants can set an in-app Utilities reminder instead | Recurring charges, yes: autopay enrolls for recurring charges assigned to the tenant (including split shares). One-time utility bills are paid manually. Note: the weekly-charges article contradicts itself on weekly autopay | Autopay is described for scheduled payments; whether it picks up a one-off utility request is not published — assume manual unless you see it on the tenant side |
| Late fees on utility charges | Reminders are on by default for Utilities charges (“before rent is due and every day after”). We found no published rule applying auto late fees to Utilities charges — verify in your late-fee settings | No auto late fee: automatic late fees are “only available for monthly rent charges” and do not apply to utilities or other types. (Weekly charges can carry a late fee.) | Auto-assessed late fees are listed as a plan feature; whether they attach to non-rent requests isn’t clearly published |
| Pay oldest first / block skipping utility | Optional “Require Tenants to Pay Oldest Charges First” on the Utilities charge | Late Fee Prioritization: require past-due charges before future payments (rent payments guide) | Not clearly published |
| Attach the utility bill to the charge | Not documented — send the bill separately or store it in documents | Not documented for tenant charges. Paid Accounting lets you attach receipts (PDF/PNG/JPG) to your expense transaction, which helps your records, not the tenant’s view | No (community-manager answer, Mar 2023; feature request logged). Workarounds: email the PDF, or upload to the lease uploads area and name it in the request |
| Free vs paid gap | No free landlord tier; charges come with any plan | Utility charges, splits, and recurring charges are part of rent collection. Paid Accounting add-on adds receipt attachment and Schedule E reporting of utility expense vs reimbursement | Unlimited (free) can send payment requests. Unlimited Plus changes ACH fees and payout speed, not utility billing |
Sources (Oct 2026): RentRedi help — How to Automatically Collect for Utilities (May 2026), How to Create a One-Time Charge in RentRedi (May 2026), How to Create a Charge, How to Set Up Auto-Pay (Jul 2026), Setting Up AutoPay and Reminders for Your Bills (Nov 2025). TurboTenant help — How to Create Charges (Jul 2026), Rent Payments Guide, How to Create a Recurring Weekly Charge, Split a Charge Between Tenants, Setting Up Automatic Late Fees on Rent Payments, Rent Payments FAQs for Landlords, Manual Expense Tracking for Your Properties, Managing Receipts in TurboTenant Accounting. Avail — Online Rent Collection and Pricing pages; community threads “Adding Utility Bills in Payment Request?” (2023) and “Utilities question.” Colorado: Holland & Knight alert on HB 26-1013 (Apr 2026). Re-verify in a live account.
Pick a split method before you pick a button
The software only stores the number you type. The method is the real decision, and it should be written into the lease or a utility addendum before the first charge (see lease & e-sign and renewals for adding an addendum).
| Method | Best for | Software fit | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tenant puts it in their name | Separately metered units; electric and gas almost always | Nothing to bill. Track move-in/move-out transfer dates in notes | Some landlords keep water/sewer/trash in the owner’s name because in some places unpaid bills can attach to the property — check with your utility |
| Flat monthly fee | Stable bills, or a utility budget/level-pay plan | Best on RentRedi (recurring Utilities charge) and TurboTenant (recurring + autopay) | Fee can drift from actual cost; decide up front whether there’s a true-up and say so in the lease |
| Actual bill, one unit | SFH where the water account stays in your name | One-time charge each period on any of the three | Always in arrears; the final bill can land after move-out — plan for it in the security deposit process if your lease and state allow |
| Actual bill split by formula (RUBS-style) | Duplex/triplex on one meter | Spreadsheet math, then one charge per unit (or a TT split charge when the “units” are roommates on one lease) | Most state-sensitive option — disclosure, no markup, and common-area rules may apply |
| Included in rent | Low, predictable utilities; simplest for tenants | No separate charge — but you can’t easily raise it mid-lease | Price it into rent at renewal; a separate flat fee is easier to explain later |
State rules: one example, not a survey
Colorado (2026): HB 26-1013, signed March 26, 2026, clarified that the state’s 2025 rental price-transparency law (HB 25-1090) does not ban RUBS, with guardrails. Per Holland & Knight’s summary: total billed to all tenants can’t exceed what the utility charged for the whole property; no markups, surcharges, or admin fees beyond what other law permits; common-area utility costs must be excluded; and the allocation method must be clearly disclosed in the lease or an addendum. New residential buildings permitted on or after July 1, 2027 must be directly metered or submetered.
Other states differ, and at least one billing-industry reference lists Connecticut as prohibiting RUBS for residential multifamily. Treat this as a reason to check your own state and city before using a formula split — not as legal advice.
Worked example: one duplex, one water bill (illustrative numbers)
A duplex on one shared water/sewer/trash account: Unit A is 1,100 sq ft with 3 occupants, Unit B is 900 sq ft with 1 occupant. This month’s bill is $210, and no common-area use is metered. These amounts are example data to show the math and the software steps, not vendor or utility figures.
| Split method | Unit A | Unit B | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equal | $105.00 | $105.00 | $210.00 |
| Square footage (55% / 45%) | $115.50 | $94.50 | $210.00 |
| Occupants (3 of 4 / 1 of 4) | $157.50 | $52.50 | $210.00 |
| Flat fee $100/unit (true-up later) | $100.00 | $100.00 | $200.00 collected; $10 short this month |
Whichever method the lease names, the totals of the formula methods equal the bill — no markup. Now the software side, using the square-footage split:
| Step | RentRedi | TurboTenant | Avail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post the charges | Other Charge → Utilities, Total Occurrences 1, $115.50 for Unit A and $94.50 for Unit B; description “Water/sewer/trash Sep bill — sq ft split” | One-time Utility charge on each lease ($115.50, $94.50); if Unit A has two roommates, use Split the amount between tenants on that one charge | Request a Payment on each lease for each amount, with the billing period in the description |
| Show the bill | Message or email the bill PDF with the math | Same; attach the bill to your expense in Accounting if you use it | Email the PDF, or upload to lease uploads and name the file in the request |
| Collect | Tenants pay manually (autopay is rent-only); reminders run by default | Paid manually as a one-time charge; no automatic late fee on Utility | Tenant pays the request; confirm whether autopay picks it up |
| Book it | Record the $210 bill as a Utilities expense and the $210 collected as income (reimbursement). TurboTenant’s help explains the reason: report the reimbursement as income and offset it with the utility expense on Schedule E. Ask your CPA how you should report it. | ||
If Unit B pays rent but skips the $94.50, that’s a partial balance — see partial payments & credits for how each tool applies payments across charges, and turn on “pay oldest first” (RentRedi) or late-fee prioritization (TurboTenant) if you want rent payments to clear utility balances first.
Monthly re-bill checklist (works on any of the three)
- Save the bill first. Download the PDF into a per-property utilities folder (document vault).
- Remove what isn’t tenant usage. Common-area, irrigation, or vacant-unit days you agreed to cover.
- Run the lease formula. Same method every month; round to cents and make the shares add up to the bill.
- Post one charge per unit with the bill period and method in the description.
- Send the bill and the math the same day, through the app’s messaging or email, so the tenant can check it (communication logs).
- Prorate move-ins and move-outs by days in the billing period, and list the expected final bill at move-out.
- Match the payments in your monthly close (bank reconciliation).
- True up flat fees on the schedule your lease names — yearly or at move-out.
Free vs paid: does anyone need to upgrade for utility billing?
- TurboTenant: No. Utility charges, splits between tenants, and recurring charges are part of rent collection. The paid Accounting add-on only helps your books (receipt attachments, Schedule E reports).
- RentRedi: No upgrade path is specific to utilities; recurring Utilities charges come with the payment features you already pay for.
- Avail: Free Unlimited can send payment requests. Plus is about ACH fees and payout speed, not utility billing.
- Outgrowing all three: If you’re billing many units from one master meter every month, a submetering or third-party utility billing service will do meter reads, splits, and disclosures — these tools won’t.
Traps that cause disputes
- No method in the lease. If the lease doesn’t name the split and the timing, every bill is a negotiation. Add an addendum before the first charge.
- Assuming autopay catches it. On RentRedi, tenant autopay is rent-only; on TurboTenant, one-time Utility charges aren’t on autopay. Expect manual payments and remind tenants.
- Assuming late fees apply. TurboTenant’s automatic late fees don’t apply to Utility charges. If the lease allows a late fee on utilities, you may have to add it by hand — check local rules first (late fees).
- Folding utilities into the rent charge. It breaks proration, makes a later true-up messy, and hides the reimbursement in your books. Keep utilities as their own charge.
- The final bill after move-out. Arrears billing means the last bill can arrive after the tenant leaves. Decide in the lease how that’s handled, and follow your state’s deposit-deduction rules.
- Markups and admin fees. Some states limit or ban them on utility pass-throughs. Billing exactly the bill is the safe default.
- Switching tools mid-year. Recurring utility charges don’t migrate. Re-create them and note the flat-fee true-up balance in the switch checklist.
Fit notes for 1–20 units
- Flat monthly utility fee you want to set once: RentRedi (scheduled Utilities charges) or TurboTenant (recurring charge + tenant autopay).
- Roommates splitting one unit’s bill: TurboTenant’s split-charge option is the cleanest.
- A few doors, actual bill once a month or quarter, free: Avail Request a Payment, or TurboTenant one-time Utility charges.
- Shared meter across units: Any of the three, plus a spreadsheet for the formula — and a lease addendum that discloses it.
- Want the bill attached to the charge: None of the three documents it. Plan to send it separately.
Honest uncertainty callouts
- TurboTenant’s help center contradicts itself on whether the Utility category can be monthly or weekly, and on weekly autopay. Check the frequency menu in your account; Other works as a fallback.
- We found no published rule on whether RentRedi’s or Avail’s automatic late fees attach to utility charges.
- Avail’s recurring options for non-rent fees aren’t clearly published; the “Request a Payment” path and no-attachment answer come from 2023 community posts.
- State law summaries here are a single example (Colorado) drawn from a law-firm alert, not a statute review. Utility pass-through rules vary by state and city.
- We don’t claim any of these tools offer meter reading, utility account sync, or automatic RUBS calculation; none was found in published help.
Related
- Roommate & co-tenant changes — re-splitting utility and rent charges when a roommate changes
- Prorated rent & move-in charges — first-month proration, move-in bundles, mid-month credits
- Pet fees, pet rent & pet deposits — pet rent and pet fees use the same recurring-charge mechanics
- Partial payments, credits & balance adjustments — rent paid, utility skipped
- Late fees & autopay — what autopay and late fees cover
- Tenant payment fees — ACH/card fees on small utility charges
- Bank reconciliation — matching utility reimbursements
- Accounting & Schedule E — utility expense vs reimbursement
- Lease & e-sign — utility addendum and disclosures
- Security deposits & move-out — the final bill after move-out
- Tenant notices & communication logs — sending the bill and the math
- Document vault & lease files — where to keep utility bills
- Switch checklist — re-creating recurring charges
- RentRedi vs TurboTenant vs Avail — full criteria table
- Required lease disclosures & addenda — where the RUBS allocation disclosure goes among other required addenda
- Small Portfolio Desk home
Educational product research only — not legal, tax, or utility-regulation advice. Utility pass-through, RUBS, submetering, markup, and deposit-deduction rules vary by state and city. Confirm current charge categories, recurrence options, autopay scope, and late-fee behavior in each vendor’s help center and your live account, and ask a local attorney or your CPA before changing how you bill utilities.