Vacant Unit Cost Recovery
Monitor and recover vacant unit costs
When a resident moves in and never transfers the electric or gas account into their name, the utility keeps billing the property, sometimes for months. When a resident moves out early and the account reverts, the same thing happens in reverse. Multiplied across a portfolio, these gaps add up to real money that never shows up as a line item because it hides inside the property’s utility bills. Vacant Cost Recovery finds it and gets it back. It is included with our Expense Management service.
Key Features
- Monitoring: Our Vacant Cost Recovery service constantly monitors lease start dates to ensure all residents transfer utilities into their name and keep the service in their name through the lease end date
- Recovery: Our Vacant Cost Recovery service allocates missed charges back to residents if they fail to transfer utilities into their name
- Customized: Customizable and thorough reporting capabilities
- Reliable: Superior on-time payment performance
- Tracking: Track invoices, manage cost allocations, and retrieve missing bills
How it works
- Monitor. We track lease start and end dates against utility account activity for every unit, continuously.
- Flag. When a unit is occupied but the utility account is still in the property’s name, we flag it right away rather than at month end.
- Recover. Charges incurred while the resident should have held the account are billed back to that resident, with the documentation to support it.
- Report. You see which units, which residents, how much, and how quickly it was resolved.
Part of a full-scope utility relationship
Vacant Cost Recovery comes with Expense Management, where we pay and manage all of the utility and common-area bills at the property, and it works alongside Resident Billing. Together they cover what the property pays out, what it recovers from residents, and the charges that would otherwise fall between.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a property typically recover?
It depends on how long each gap lasted. The recovered amount is the unit’s actual utility charges for the days the resident occupied it without the account in their name. With average apartment electric bills running well over $100 a month according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a single 60-day gap is a meaningful number, and most portfolios have more than one.
Does this apply to water?
Usually not, since water is rarely in the resident’s name. It applies to utilities residents contract directly, most often electric and gas.
Is Vacant Cost Recovery available on its own?
It is part of Expense Management. Expense Management can be set up without it, but most owners who see the recovery numbers keep it on.
Take Control Today
These features allow us to provide an efficient and accurate bill payment and vacant cost recovery service. That means increased net operating income! Partner with us to reduce risk, control costs, and better manage your utility billing burden. Start experiencing the convenience and efficiency of our Bill-Payment and Vacant Cost Recovery service today. Contact us to learn more.