How to split an electricity, water or gas bill between tenants
Updated 28 Oct 2026
List the units on the meter, agree a rule with your tenants (evenly between the occupied flats, per unit, or by percentage), decide how much of the bill tenants pay back, and add each tenant’s share to what they owe with the bill’s date. Put the rule in the lease so nobody argues about it later.
When a bill needs splitting
Most flats in Egypt have their own electricity meter, often a prepaid card meter that each tenant charges themselves. Those bills need no splitting. Splitting comes up when several units share one meter: a building’s single water meter, the stairwell and lift electricity (the services meter), a shared gas line, or a house divided into rooms.
Before you split anything, write down which units are on which meter. A bill can only be shared between the units it actually covers.
Three ways to split it, with an example
Say a building has 4 flats on one water meter, flat 4 is empty this month, and the bill is 1,200 EGP.
| Rule | Flat 1 | Flat 2 | Flat 3 | Flat 4 (vacant) | Landlord pays |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evenly between occupied flats | 400 | 400 | 400 | – | 0 |
| Per unit | 300 | 300 | 300 | – | 300 |
| By percentage (50 / 30 / 20) | 600 | 360 | 240 | – | 0 |
- Evenly between occupied flats: the whole bill is shared by whoever lives there. Simple, but tenants pay more in a month when a flat is empty.
- Per unit: every unit carries the same share whether it is let or not, and the landlord pays for the empty ones. Fair to tenants, and the usual choice when vacancies are common.
- By percentage: shares follow something you agreed, such as the number of people in each flat or each flat’s size. Fairest for water, but the percentages must add up to 100 and should be written down.
Tenants do not have to pay all of it
Some landlords include part of the services in the rent. For example, the stairwell and lift electricity comes to 900 EGP and you agreed tenants pay back 600 of it: split the 600 between them (200 each for three flats) and record the remaining 300 as your own expense for that property.
Keep it fair and argument-free
- Write the rule in the lease: which meter, which rule, and when shares are due.
- Keep a photo of every bill, and tell each tenant their share with the bill’s period and date.
- Add the share to what the tenant owes, alongside the rent, so it is not forgotten or paid twice.
- Use the same rule every month. Changing it after a high bill is what starts disputes.
Doing it in Aqari
- Open the property and choose Add bill.
- Pick the utility, the period and the amount, and tick the units on that meter (one unit, some of them, or the whole property).
- Enter how much tenants pay back, or leave it empty if the bill is your own cost.
- Pick the rule: evenly, per unit, or a percentage for each tenant. Aqari shows each unit’s share before you save.
Each tenant’s share is added to their account as a charge, and the rest goes to the property’s expenses. Tenants see their own share, never the bill total. Under the per-unit rule, the shares of vacant units stay with you.
Questions
Should a vacant flat pay a share of the water bill?
Nobody lives there to pay it, so either the occupied flats share the whole bill or the landlord pays the vacant flat’s share. Splitting per unit does the second, which most tenants see as fairer.
Can tenants see the full bill?
You can show them the bill if you like. In Aqari, each tenant sees only their own share on their account, not the total or other tenants’ shares.
What about prepaid electricity meters?
If each flat has its own prepaid meter, each tenant charges their own card and there is nothing to split. Only a meter shared between units needs a rule.