Splitting utility costs between landlord and tenant
Updated: 3 November 2026
Rent is agreed once; utility bills arrive every month and are different each time. This guide covers which costs usually fall on the tenant and which on the landlord, how to split a bill fairly, and how to avoid disputes when the tenancy ends.
Who pays what
The lease decides which costs the tenant pays, so list them in it explicitly. In practice:
- Tenant: costs of using the home — electricity, water, heating, gas, waste collection, internet and TV, cleaning of shared areas.
- Landlord: costs of owning it — the building's reserve fund, major repairs and improvements, property insurance.
- By agreement: building management fees and small running repairs. Whatever the lease leaves out is the most common source of disputes.
Four ways to split a bill
When a bill is in the landlord's name or covers the whole building, it has to be split. The common ways:
- By usage: if the unit has its own sub-meter, the tenant pays the share matching their consumption. The fairest, with the fewest arguments.
- Fixed amount: the tenant pays an agreed sum every month whatever the bill. Simple, but the landlord carries the risk of expensive months.
- Percentage: the tenant pays an agreed share of the bill, e.g. 60%. Suits units without sub-meters shared with the landlord or other tenants.
- Bill minus the landlord's fixed share: the landlord takes off what they use themselves (e.g. common lighting) and the tenant pays the rest.
Example: splitting by usage
- Water bill for the whole house: €84
- Total usage on the main meter: 28 m³
- Tenant's usage on the sub-meter: 12 m³
- Tenant's share: 12 / 28 × €84 = €36
- Landlord's share: €48
Run the same calculation with your own numbers in the free utility cost split calculator — it offers all four methods and shows the formula you can send to your tenant.
Meter readings
A split by usage is only as good as the readings. Read the meters on the same day every month, and at move-in and move-out together with the tenant, with a photo. A signed handover record prevents most disputes.
If a tenant moves in mid-month, split that month's bill by days, or by a meter reading on the move-in date.
Rounded payments and overpayments
Tenants often pay a round sum — say €100 for €93.34 of costs. Record the difference and deduct it from the next statement; record a shortfall as debt in the same way. Then the balance at the end of the tenancy is clear to the cent.
RentLOG does this automatically: it carries an overpayment or debt into the next month and shows it to the tenant in their portal too.
Deposit and the final settlement
Under Slovenia's Housing Act, a deposit for a flat may not exceed three months' rent. At the end of the tenancy it covers unpaid costs and any damage, and the rest is returned.
Annual settlements (heating, for example) often arrive after the tenant has moved out, so agree in the lease how costs that arrive later will be settled.
Put it to use
Frequently asked questions
Does the tenant pay the building's reserve fund?+
Generally not. The reserve fund is an owner's cost, because it pays for maintaining and renovating the building.
How do I split electricity without a sub-meter?+
Agree a fixed monthly amount or a percentage of the bill. Consider fitting a sub-meter — it's cheap and ends the guesswork.
How do I charge utilities if the tenant moves in mid-month?+
Split the bill by the days the tenant used the home, or by a meter reading on the move-in date.
Are utility costs part of the taxable rent?+
Generally not, if the lease agrees them separately and the tenant pays them at actual cost. That's why they belong in a separate column from rent.
This guide is for information only and is not tax or legal advice. Check the current rules with FURS before you file.