Electricity, Gas, and Garbage (in Some Towns)

In Massachusetts, tenants are allowed to transfer electricity, gas, and, in some towns, garbage services into their names.

Single-Family or Multi-Family Properties with Separate Meters

For properties with separate utility meters:

• • Tenants are responsible for contacting the utility companies to transfer the accounts to their names before the lease start date.
  • The utility service should begin on the first day of the lease.

Multi-Family Properties with a Single Meter

For multi-unit properties with a shared utility meter, the landlord may recover utility costs by including electricity charges in the tenant’s rent. Rent inclusion is permitted if the landlord does not separately measure or bill the tenant based on individual usage.

• • It is recommended to sign a Utility Sharing Addendum with tenants to clarify cost-sharing responsibilities.
  • Utility costs can be divided based on methods such as square footage, equal split, or occupancy-based calculations.