Finance category
Mortgage, loan, investing, tax, and money calculators.
Tenant Utility Split Calculator
Shared utility bills cause more roommate arguments than rent. This calculator splits the bill four ways — equal per person, per bedroom, per square foot (landlord RUBS), or usage-weighted — and compares each method against the equal-split benchmark.
% of unit usage attributable to you
Some RUBS leases add 5-15%
Your monthly share
$113
Share before admin fee
$113
Landlord admin fee
$0
Annual total
$1,360
Equal-split benchmark
$113
Over (+) / under (−) equal split
$0
How the math works
Shared utilities split four common ways: equal per person, per bedroom, per square foot (RUBS — Ratio Utility Billing System), or weighted by actual usage. Equal is simplest but unfair when bedrooms or usage differ; RUBS is landlord-friendly but feels arbitrary to tenants; usage-weighted is most accurate when agreed up front.
Multi-family RUBS programs often tack on a 5–15% landlord admin fee. Several cities (San Francisco, Seattle, Portland) require the billing methodology to be disclosed in the lease and allow tenants to dispute the calculation. Submetering is always more defensible than RUBS when available.
How to Use
- Enter the total monthly utility bill.
- Pick the split method: equal, per room, per sqft (RUBS), or usage.
- Enter total people in the unit.
- For room/sqft methods, enter your bedroom and total bedroom sizes.
- For usage method, enter your usage percentage.
- If it's a landlord RUBS program, add the admin fee percentage.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is RUBS?
Ratio Utility Billing System. The landlord pays the master utility bill, then re-bills tenants based on unit square footage, occupants, or a hybrid ratio. Common in multi-family without submeters. Usually adds a 5-15% admin fee.
Is RUBS legal?
Generally yes but regulated. California, Oregon, Washington, and Texas allow it with disclosure requirements. Some cities (San Francisco, Portland, Seattle) have specific RUBS rules. Submetering is preferred where available because it reflects real usage.
How do roommates fairly split when usage differs?
Agree on weights up front: someone who works from home may take 40%, someone who travels 20%. Document it in a roommate agreement. Revisit quarterly. Fixed ratios beat re-negotiating every bill.
Can a landlord charge more than the actual bill?
The actual bill plus a disclosed admin fee — yes. Marking up the utility itself is usually prohibited. If you suspect inflated billing, request the master utility statement; most states require disclosure on written request.
Related Calculators
More Finance Calculators
Browse all finance →AI Cost Calculator
Compare token costs across OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google AI models. Calculate monthly API spending for GPT-4o, Claude, Gemini, and more.
Tip Calculator
Calculate the perfect tip and split the bill between friends. Choose preset percentages or enter a custom tip amount.
Discount Calculator
Calculate sale price, discount amount, stacked discounts, sales tax, and total savings for any markdown.
Gas Mileage Calculator
Calculate MPG or km/L, estimate trip fuel cost, and compare annual fuel expenses between two vehicles.
Sales Tax Calculator
Add sales tax to a price, reverse-calculate the pre-tax amount from a total, and estimate tax for multiple items on one receipt.
Profit Margin Calculator
Calculate gross margin, markup, target selling price, maximum cost, and compare margins across multiple products.
Keep exploring
Next steps in Finance
Previous calculator
Tenant Turnover Cost Calculator
Add lost rent, make-ready, and re-leasing costs to see the true cost of a turnover in dollars and months of rent.
Next calculator
Termite Treatment Cost Calculator
Termite treatment cost — liquid soil treatment, bait systems, spot treatment, and fumigation for drywood termites.