Excessive Utilities: What Can Anchorage Property Owners Do?

A lot of Anchorage property owners try to be kind and cut their tenants a break by covering utilities. But sometimes this severely backfires and is becomes a very costly learning lesson for the inexperienced property owner. High gas and electric bills can really crunch the profit of property owners. When confronted with such situations and a lease doesn’t spell out “reasonable” use, recourse options are limited. If you’re an owner and find yourself with a tenant that is using too many utilities, there can be some things to be done.

The first approach is engaging tenants in constructive dialogues regarding the sensible utilization of utilities. Sometimes an inquiry about why a bill is so high can lead to the owner becoming aware of issues within the unit such as a window not closing properly or a thermostat that isn’t working. In a perfect world excessive utility use become solved in this manner but often times different approaches will have to be orchestrated.

If a property owner continues to find themselves paying excessive utility bills after a discussion, it may be warranted to perform an inspection of the property. Sometimes multiple inspections are needed. Inspections can help in discovering what the issues is. If an easy solution is not found sometimes owners continue inspecting to keep an eye on the property. Frequent inspections can be disruptive to a tenant, who, in turn may need to adjust use of their utility use in order to prevent further inspections.

Sometimes more drastic measures are needed. Advancements in technology offer innovative solutions to monitor and regulate utility consumption. The integration of smart devices empowers landlords to exercise greater control over energy usage within their properties. From programmable thermostats to sensor-based water flow monitors, these cutting-edge technologies enable landlords to track and manage utility consumption remotely. These can be installed by a landlord in an effort to improve the quality of the property and by embracing more green and energy conserving products.

Winters in Anchorage can be very hard on utility use but when use becomes excessive and costly for the property owner there can be a few things to be done. It is always easiest to prevent these situations by having leases spell out that the tenant is responsible for utilities. Or at the very least, have leases addressing “reasonable use”.