Simple solution to bills-inclusive burden

I have thought about offering this to tenants but I'm always worried that they'll misuse electricity/water etc and it will cost me the earth. Any advice on how to limit this... without having to monitor their every kw.
thanks

I no longer run shared properties because I got fed up with the constant hassles and only let self contained flats/houses now, but when I did let individual rooms some years before all the regs for multi-tenanted properties came in, I made the huge mistake of charging rent inclusive of bills.

I'll never forget turning up one freezing January evening to deliver something to find my property bathed in brilliant light, like a beacon, glowing like an over-lit Christmas tree. The snow in the rest of the strret was evident but for several yards around my property there was none to be seen.

Every single door and window (including the street & back doors), was wide open allowing that pleasant North-Easterly breeze to air the property and every light posibble of being turned on, was. I didn't need a key and walked straight in to the shared lounge to see one of the tenants in his boxers ironing a top. The TV was on, a record was playing and the radio was competing too..... all at full voume. I opened my mouth but there seemed to be no sound eminating from it due to the ambient noise. I then walked around the house to see each tenant's door wide open. Each was in a similat state of undress with their own TV's, radios, record players, hair dryers, curlers blasting away

After several moments of arm waving & shouting to attract their attention, I spoke with a couple of them and asked why their windows & doors were all wide open and they replied because it's so hot in here. This was a Victorian terrace, so it certainly wasn't through wall insulation !!.

Rather stupidly I asked "well, the rad valves are all fully open and the heating is running at maximum, so why don't you just turn the heating down?", to which I got the unanimous reply "why should we?, the rent is all-inclusive"

Of course, the only thing I could say was "you do appreciate I will have no option but to inrease that all-inclusive rent if you run up unreasonable bills" and that's exactly what I did. They were all on monthly licenses in those days and as soon as I sent the letters with the increased rent details two immediately handed in their notice and the others left pretty soon afterwards.

Then I converted the property to flats and thank goodness for that. Never again would I provide any accommodation on a fully inclusive basis.

R

I have rented out all-inclusive for years. My contracts to have caps on the use and tenants are banned from having extra fridges / fan heaters and so on.

It is a constant struggle to keep things reasonable. As R01 says, the tenants sit with their boxers on and windows open whilst I sit in my own house with a rug over my knees.

I have well controlled heating systems with thermostats that cap the temps and time clocks the tenants can't programme. The result is boiler damage, they don't understand how it all works and will poke, prod and turn things on the boiler until something breaks down.

People say things to me like '"but I can't sleep at night as where I come from it is 35 degrees centigrade at 3am, so I need the heating on to simulate that". They expect to sleep under a single cotton sheet in the eight of winter and believe it is unreasonable to have to buy a winter duvet.

With the increasing price of utilities and the 'don't give a damn' attitude of many tenants the bills inclusive model has to change soon. it is good in that tenants like it and it prevents arguments but it is unsustainable.

Oh, and did I say they all have fan heaters. Not uncommon for them to be left on 24/7 even where the tenant is out.