Despite a loophole in Ohio law that apparently allows landlords to collect a profit while functioning as a middleman between tenants and utility companies, many Athens area landlords say they are avoiding the practice altogether.
Submetering, a practice in which a landlord buys utilities and then charges the tenant a manufactured rate, is often used in larger apartment or condominium complexes and rentals, such as duplexes, with multiple groups of residents.
Of the 50 properties Scott Hunter manages for Athens Ohio Rentals, only two tenants, who share utilities with other apartments, don’t pay their utilities directly to the vendor, Hunter said in an email to The Post.
Officials from several other sizable rental companies in the area, including Larry Conrath Realty, Mill Street Village, Cornwell Properties and Coady Rentals, said they do not submeter their properties’ utilities.
But the practice does exist here.
Foster Place Rentals tries to avoid submetering, but does so for water in one of their older properties, said property manager Mark Chapman.
“For all the places where it is feasible, tenants are responsible for their own utilities,” Chapman said.
Another Athens area landlord, who spoke to The Post on the condition that he and the company he works for not to be identified in an effort to not anger tenants, said he submeters some properties, but consciously tries to avoid doing so.
“Mostly I prefer when utilities are taken care of by the vendor,” he said. “There are fewer bills for me to manage, because (for submetered properties) I have to pay the bills and get reimbursed by the tenant.”
Often, landlords will use the practice to help cut down on costs or to avoid having to keep increasing the rent on tenants, said Joe Maskovyak, a staff attorney at Ohio Poverty Law Center.
Water is more commonly submetered because it can be done so more easily than other utilities such as gas or electricity, Maskovyak added.
Third-party companies will sometimes handle the utility bill on behalf of the landlord, but as these are private businesses, it is not clear how much they raise costs between a utility company and a tenant, Maskovyak said.
“We don’t know if third parties make more money on this,” he said.
Those who feel they they have been taken advantage of by a landlord or third-party utility company are advised by public advocates to seek a detailed bill from their landlords.
“If you look at your electric bill (or) gas bill, it will show you usage numbers, how much it costs for the pipes, capital stuff,” Maskovyak said. “We have found that many of these utility sellers do not come near to providing that type of information.”
But when third parties get involved, tenants may find themselves trapped between their landlord and third-party companies when looking for answers.
“Tenant gets stuck in between landlord, because everyone says the other guy can answer (their questions),” Maskovyak said. “It shouldn’t have to take that.”
@LucasDaprile
ld311710@ohio.edu
This article appeared in print under the headline "Landlords may profit from utility prices ."
