should you pay in this situation?

Question

Let's say you live in an apartment with 3 other roommates, only one of which who currently occupies the residence as the others are on summer vacation. Are the other 3, whom arent lving there obligated in any way to pay utilities, that they arent there using??....i could understand paying a little but not 1/4...or am i wrong in this?

first, this is a friends problem, and im trying to gain insight, my roommate said he'd pay while im gone (we are all in college)....with the 4 person situation....1 is completely moved out since a month ago.......2 are on summer break....while the 4th stays and takes classes, she being the person who habitually leaves the tv on etc etc..... i see no reason to pay the full 1/4....becuase i do realize keeping the fridge and air on is essential, but when someone is clearly using most of the energy why do the other pay the lions share.....maybe it is just my perspective on it

Answer 1

just depends on the agreement u entered into when u all agreed to move in together , but the guy staying there for the summer should be a stand up guy and pay for what he alone used

Answer 2

For simplicity sake, yes they should pay. Consider utilities as part of the rent (only paid to other companies) and the total as "the cost of living there." They have agreed to pay 1/4 the of that cost each month; just because they are gone is no excuse.

It could also be argued that the roommates use more utilities than what they are paying for the rest of the year. Example: one roommate might be a shower-hog; another might have the habbit of leaving the TV on 24/7, etc. Their contribution to the bills while gone help balance the totals for the entire year.

Answer 3

Yes you should pay, unless you agreed that he would pay the full load of the bills while every one else is gone. You also have to realize that the utility bills are a month behind. like this month, you pay last months bill.

and when you say that you wont be using the utilities, you are probably mistaken on that also. Unless you have unplugged everything that belongs to the other three tenants, and you havent asked him to care for a pet or plants or any thing like that.

The bill will go way down yes but if you have a cordless phone, it takes electric, your clocks take electric, If you have left food in the refridgerator that takes electric, Pets use water and have to be kept cool in the summer. plants have to be watered, if you have fish well the tanks use electric. I guess it all depends. on what you are leaving plugged in on weather or not you are using the utilities.

You need to work this arangement out before you go off on vacation. that is all there is to it.

Answer 4

It depends on what your lease states and what, if any agreement you have with the other roommates. Since the lease is a legal contract, you would be held to that under most circumstances. If you all have an agreement to pay a certain percentage of the utilities, that agreement should be adherred to unless you all agree to change it. I do think the fairest way would be to have utilities paid by the people who are using the apartment during the summer, but again it should be discussed and agreed to by all. Just my opinion.

Answer 5

It depends on what the agreement was when you all rented together. If the deal was rent plus 1/4th of the Utilities then yes you all should pay equally. It's the deal you made together and not the remaining persons fault that you three decided to leave the apartment for the summer.

If the deal was rent plus shared utilities ONLY when you were using them ~~~ then No, the person remaining is totally responsible.

If all three of you left some of your stuff there think of what ever you decide to pay for as a "babysitting my stuff fee".

Answer 6

How long is the summer vacation for? If its about 2 months then you should talk to them, why should they pay for something they haven't used, however it is difficult to decide the usage and this could cause further problems, as things could get to a stage where it would become petty. So I guess splitting it the way it is whether they are there or not is easier. If they are not there the costs would be down to minimal anyway.

Answer 7

If you all didn't work this out in writing beforehand (which you should have), be reasonable: you're all sharing an apartment because you can't afford to live individually, most likely. How is one person supposed to afford the full cost of living there because some of you decided to go on vacation but you haven't moved out so he could replace you?

Answer 8

The roommates should pay their share. to do otherwise is unfair to the person left.

If it helps think of the person at home as a security guard. Because if they weren't there you could come home to an empty apartment.

Relax the utilities will not be as expensive with only 1 person there.

Answer 9

think of it this way, if you were living by yourself, and a utility bill showed up and was justified, would you have to pay it? of course you would.

if you are living with someone else and go off for a week or two you still should pay the bill, just as if you would if you would be by yourself. as long as its not a huge difference in the normal bill then you should.

Answer 10

I would only pay my share of the total cost as divided among us living in. this is because by living together, we must have agreed to share the cost in some ways and support each other coz neither of us could afford it individually.