# How to split utilities between tenants with a level monthly payment

Canonical URL: https://www.evenoutapp.com/guides/how-to-split-utilities-between-tenants
Updated: 2026-10-06

Split each bill equally among the tenants who live there. The tenant whose name is on the account pays the provider and gets repaid. To avoid asking each tenant for $80 in a $240 January, each can pay a level $50 a month toward $1,800 of yearly electric and gas, then settle the difference at the end of the lease year.

Key points:
- A level payment is the yearly bills divided by 12, then by the tenants. On $1,800 and three tenants that is $50 each a month.
- In the example each tenant is $46 behind in March, the worst month, so the account holder fronts $92 for the other two.
- Starting in April instead of October means no tenant is ever behind, with credit peaking at $73 in November. A fall start leaves the holder fronting $92 by March.
- A tenant who moves out in January owes $20 despite paying every month. One who leaves after July is owed $4.
- Recalculate the level amount whenever a tenant joins or leaves, using only the bills still to come.

## Who pays the provider and who owes a share?

The tenant whose name is on an account pays the provider, and every tenant who lives there owes an equal share back. Holding the account and owing a share are two separate lists. Nora can hold the electric and gas account without paying more than Omar or Pia, and the tenants only need to agree on four things once:

1. **Who holds each account.** One name per bill.
2. **Who counts in the split.** Write the list of people down.
3. **How each bill is split.** Equal is the default. [Four methods for splitting utilities](https://www.evenoutapp.com/guides/how-to-split-utilities) covers splitting by head and by days home for houses where use differs.
4. **How tenants repay.** Either each bill as it arrives, or a level amount every month.

## What is a level monthly payment?

A level payment is a flat amount each tenant sends the account holder every month, whatever the bill says. Winter and summer bills swing, but the monthly request stays the same, and the difference gets settled at the end.

The cost is that the account holder fronts money in months when bills run above the level. The next section shows how big that gap gets.

## What does a year of bills look like at $50 each?

Say Nora, Omar and Pia rent a house and Nora holds the electric and gas account. Twelve months of bills come to $1,800, which is $150 a month on average and $50 for each tenant. Credit means a tenant has paid more than their share so far. Owed means they have paid less.

| Month | Bill | Each tenant's share | Each tenant's tab |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct | $90 | $30 | $20 credit |
| Nov | $129 | $43 | $27 credit |
| Dec | $201 | $67 | $10 credit |
| Jan | $240 | $80 | $20 owed |
| Feb | $222 | $74 | $44 owed |
| Mar | $156 | $52 | $46 owed |
| Apr | $117 | $39 | $35 owed |
| May | $81 | $27 | $12 owed |
| Jun | $102 | $34 | $4 credit |
| Jul | $150 | $50 | $4 credit |
| Aug | $162 | $54 | Even |
| Sep | $150 | $50 | Even |

The tab is the running total of shares minus the running total of $50 payments. Through March, shares add up to $346 and each tenant has paid $300, so each owes $46. The tab is back to even in August.

## Who covers the gap in winter?

The account holder does, unless the plan starts in spring or the other tenants cover it up front. In March Omar and Pia are each $46 behind, so Nora has paid $92 more than she has received from them.

The start month decides this. Run the same twelve bills from April and no tenant is ever behind. The tab stays in credit, peaks at $73 in November because most spring and fall bills run below $150, and ends even in March. If the plan has to start in October, ask Omar and Pia for a cushion equal to the biggest tab, $46 each, paid once at the start. It sits as credit all year and comes back at the true-up, once the tabs are even.

Without a cushion, the holder carries the gap, so agree in advance that the holder is repaid in full at the true-up at the latest.

## How do you set the level amount?

Add up the last 12 statements, divide by 12, then divide by the number of tenants, and round up to a whole dollar. Here $1,800 divided by 12 is $150, and $150 divided by 3 is $50.

Use your own statements and not an average. The U.S. Energy Information Administration puts average residential electricity use at about 899 kWh a month in 2022, and the yearly figure runs from 6,178 kWh in Hawaii to 14,774 kWh in Louisiana. A level amount built on another home's numbers will miss.

## What happens when a tenant moves out partway?

Settle the tab on the day they leave. In the table, Pia moves out after January. Shares through January are $220 and she has paid $200, so she owes $20 even though she paid every month. If she moves out after July instead, her shares are $496 against $500 paid, so she is owed $4.

Then reset the amount for the two tenants who stay. After July, bills for August and September come to $312, so each of the two shares $156. Omar holds a $4 credit, which brings his total to $152, or $76 a month for two months.

## How do you track it in EvenOut?

Make a Household group, then Nora adds each statement as an expense "Paid by you", with the category Utilities and "Split equally". Omar and Pia each record their $50 with "Settle up" and "Record payment". Omar's group page then shows "You owe Nora $46" in March, which is the table's tab. EvenOut records who owes what and does not move money, and a partial payment shows how much will still be owed.

When someone falls behind, "Remind" sends a shared message or a friendly email, at most one a day. A utility deposit can go in as a "Pending payment", which keeps it out of balances until you confirm it.

## What should you do next?

Pick the account holders, write the list of people who count, and decide whether to use a level amount before the next statement arrives. For houses where use really differs, [how roommates split utilities](https://www.evenoutapp.com/guides/how-to-split-utilities-between-roommates) covers days present and heavy-user extras, and [splitting electric and gas bills](https://www.evenoutapp.com/guides/split-electric-and-gas-bills) shows how to carve out one large device. The utility bill split calculator handles the arithmetic for one month.

## Frequently asked questions

### Should every tenant pay the same level amount?

Only if the split is equal. If a couple counts as 2 shares next to two single tenants, the shares are 1, 1 and 2, spread over 4 shares in total, and a $150 monthly level makes one share $37.50. Each single tenant pays $37.50 and the couple pays $75.

### How do you true up at the end of the lease year?

Add the 12 bills, divide by the number of tenants and compare that with what each tenant paid. If the year came to $1,872 against $1,800 collected, the gap is $72, so each of three tenants owes $24. In EvenOut the group balance shows the same figure as "You owe" the account holder.

### When should you recalculate the level amount?

When a tenant joins or leaves, when a provider changes its rate, or when the tab of any tenant passes one level payment. In the example the biggest tab is $46, under the $50 level, so nothing needs to change.

### What if there is no bill history to work from?

Run the first months as plain equal shares and repay each bill as it arrives. After 12 statements you have a real total to divide. Until then, any level figure is a guess, and averages for other homes are a poor stand-in.

## Sources

- [U.S. Energy Information Administration: How much electricity does an American home use?](https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=97&t=3)