Is it fair for a roommate who's never home to pay an equal share of the utilities?

If she lived by herself and kept to her current schedule, she would still have some energy consumption. I would think that it would be gracious to charge her 25% of the utilities. She does have the option of coming home at any time, and it must be nice to have two people living there, but paying as is three were. I would imagine you would want to keep her as a roommate.

I’m guessing since it’s thirds, there is another person involved? What does that person think? What was the original agreement?

It seems a bit high to be charging her, but again, what did she agree to pay? I might consider reducing the amount, but not wiping it out, completely – after all, she entered into an agreement, whether written or verbal, she did agree to a certain arrangement.

If all three parties agree to a reduction, I might shave some off the cost of utilities.

When she moved in, it was agreed that we’d each pay 1/3 of utilities. But now that she’s never here, I feel guilty holding her up to that. I’ve been shaving off about 20 bucks each month, but it’s still uncomfortable. Hopefully shutting the pool down for the winter will help things.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. As other people pointed out so far, it was an agreement that all of you had moving in. It’s not your fault that she’s choosing to spend her time somewhere else now. You should be able to live comfortably, too, period. So what it comes down to, in my mind, is either shaving some off, but not so much that it would place you in a predicament, or simply telling her that you’re going to need to find a new roommate who can cover the costs her absences are causing.

so you are OFFERING this to her? she’s not asking?

Think of it in reverse.
If the bills were the same amount but she was there all the time with her friends and they were using the pool, would you charge her more?

I think it is perfectly fair to split the utilities three ways, but if you are worried that she might move out and take her third of the rent away, then you might as well compromise somewhere.

I think this is AMAZINGLY considerate of you. It’s extremely rare especially in today’s economy to find someone willing to fork out a little more money when they really don’t have to. I’d consult your other roommate and see how he/she feels. From what you’re saying, cutting her third of the contribution out would add another $50 to you and your roommate’s rent, which is quite a large increase. But I do truly admire you for thinking about her… It’s a type of kindness rarely seen these days. :)

You all signed an agreement, she is still a resident and she is choosing not to be there despite her commitment. She should be charged the amount she agreed to pay. It’s very thoughtful of you to consider her part in the actual energy consumption, but three ways was the deal, and her lifestyle changes shouldn’t have an effect until she moves out unless it’s a special circumstance. Which it doesn’t sound like it is.

I would say yes, it is fair. It is your roommate’s choice to be there or not. As long as you include her in all the major utility discussion (where to keep the temperature, when to turn the heat/air on) then she should pay for her part of it. Her actually being there shouldn’t really come into it.

I spend at least half my time at my boyfriend’s house. I don’t get to just pay half my bill because of it. (And my power consumption is usually less than the various flat fees for having power.)

she’s choosing not to be there, at any time she has the luxury of staying at your place full time (like any typical roommate) and if not for her, you might be able to rent a smaller place, paying less utilities and rent yourself.

She could break up with her boyfriend at any point, and then you’d have to re-adjust again. I’d say to just keep it at a flat, fair rate that is equally shared among all parties. You wouldn’t offer her a rent reduction becuase she’s not “living” in the house, just using it as storage, right? Until she fully moves in with BF, she’s going to have to pay her fair share at your place.

yes, certainly.

Have you been living together for some time? If so, I would suggest looking back at last year’s bills. I would choose the lowest month and have her pay a third of that amount each month. That’s basically your base utility rate to have your apartment running comfortably. Whether or not she is staying there, you all agreed to split the utilities. But, for instance, I don’t think it would be fair to make her split the cost of your utilities (equally between the three roommates) in the winter (while you blast the heaters and she’s not even there).

@nimis, that’s the root of this question. We just moved in together. She uses the place like long-term storage. The pool pump runs up the bill, but is necessary. We don’t use the AC. Maybe I should organize this…

Inevitables
Pool pump & water
Fridge
Attic fan (drives out the humidity)
Garbage
Telecom

…Evitables
Lectricity
Water
Any A/C use

Looking at this list, there’s a lot that it is fair to hold her accountable for. I feel alright with cutting her a little deal on the evitables.

I totally agree with how you broke it down.
But I’m not exactly sure how you would distinguish between the two lists?
How do you distinguish Fridge and Attic Fan from general Electricity?
It’s a very considerate and generous gesture on your part.
Just be sure that you’re not shafting yourself instead.

I was trying to distinguish between things that must essentially run and are not based on personal use and those that are. It’s a really blurred line, though. Thank you, everyone, for your help! I didn’t think this q would be so popular!

I understand how you’re distinguishing in theory.
But I was wondering more how you’d distinguish on the bill.

oh! i just guesstimate. that’s what actuaries call it.

She should still pay the third that was agreed upon at the start, because she hasn’t fully moved out yet, she is still part of the household. It’s like when you go on a vacation, you don’t go and say I’ll only pay this much because I wasn’t there, you still have to pay your part. Just because she chooses to stay at her boyfriend’s house doesn’t mean she should neglect her responsiblities there.

Your analogy can work in your favour if you live with other people
and your vacation is relatively brief. Under those circumstances,
the amount they’d save isn’t significant enough to bother.

Your vacation analogy can also favour the argument that she should pay less.
Let’s say you live by yourself. If you go on a long vacation and come back you’ll
notice that the utilities bill will be significantly less than usual.
You’re still paying for the basic service, but that’s about it.

i can see nimis’ point, and i can see much2smile4’s point. it’s a tough call. there are many ways you can look at it.

Im going through the same thing and that’s what actually brought me to this page, but I have thought about shaving a small amount off the bill and that thought has lasted about 2 seconds in my mind. I actually do consume more of the energy, but her bill is the light bill, like mine is the gas. do I use more of the lights just because she pays it? no. but weather I did or not does not matter. we are not going through the bill combing out how much I used vs. how many times she’s had to turn the lights on when she came home to get clothes. if the bill is a certain amount….then she has to pay it…point blank period. just like when i left for a month and came back for a day out of that month….my whole half of the rent was still due. nothing gets prorated around here.