Utility billing laws for landlords in New York
Rules reviewed September 2026
This is information, not legal advice.
SplitDue performs the math; you are responsible for following your state and local rules on utility billing to tenants. Most states require the allocation method to be disclosed in the lease, prohibit billing tenants more than the actual utility cost, and some cap or prohibit admin fees. This is not legal advice. Rules were reviewed September 2026 (version 2026-09) and are not exhaustive — cities frequently add their own requirements. Confirm current law with a New York attorney before you bill.
At a glance
- Admin fee
- Allowed if disclosed; must reflect actual cost
- Lease disclosure
- Required. State the utilities billed and the allocation method before the tenant signs.
- Billing above the utility's bill
- Not permitted. Tenant shares must never total more than the master bill.
- Common areas
- Excluded. Hallways, laundry and irrigation stay the owner's cost.
What New York requires
- Electric may only be rebilled through PSC-approved submetering; ratio allocation of electricity is not permitted.
- Rent-stabilized tenants generally may not be charged separately for water. Check DHCR guidance.
How SplitDue handles this
- SplitDue keeps any admin fee on its own line of the tenant bill, so the utility cost and your fee are never conflated.
- Tenant shares are calculated so they add up to the master bill exactly, never more, and rounding remainders are absorbed rather than collected twice.
- Vacant and owner-occupied units still take their share of every bill, but that share is assigned to you rather than pushed onto the remaining tenants.
- Each tenant bill states the method, the service dates, the inputs used, and the utility's total, which is the disclosure most states expect you to be able to produce.
Related reading
- What Is RUBS Utility Billing?RUBS splits one master utility bill across units by formula instead of by meter. How the allocation methods work, how it compares to submetering, and the rules that apply almost everywhere.
- Submetering vs. RUBS: Which Should You Use?What each approach costs, what it recovers, how to handle a building where only some units are metered, and the states that decide the question for you.
Other states
Split your New York bills correctly
SplitDue does the allocation, produces a documented PDF for each tenant, and tracks which periods you have already billed.